Bharti to outsource $1.0b cable biz
Thursday, 28 January 2010
NEW DELHI, Jan 27 (Economic Times): Bharti Airtel has invited bids to outsource the management of its 1,20,00 km-plus of inter-city optic fibre cable network and hopes to close the deal before the end of this fiscal, its chief executive officer Manoj Kohli told newsmen.
The deal is estimated to be worth up to $1 billion over a five-year period, industry sources familiar with the development said even as Kohli refused to put a value to the contract size.
"We will form a JV and have a stake in the company to which we award this contract," Kohli added. ET first reported in August 2009 that Bharti would outsource the management of its inter-city fibre network, the physical cables on which voice and data signals travel between cities.
Bharti Airtel operates optical fibre cable network of over 100,000 route kilometres. Bharti Airtel is also set to renew its multi-billion network-outsourcing contracts with Ericsson and Nokia Siemens this year.
State-owned telco BSNL, which has the largest fibre network in the country, comprising about 600,000 km route is also set to invite bids from segment players in February to outsource the management of its network.
According to executives with the PSU, the deal is would be closed in the second half of this fiscal. BSNL's network outsourcing contract is expected to be worth over additional $1 billion over a five-year period.
Bharti Airtel and BSNL contracts could well be the largest outsourcing deals in the country this calendar year.
In April 2009, Bharti Airtel entered into a joint venture with Franco-American telecom gear-maker Alcatel-Lucent to manage its landline and broadband business. Bharti is the minority partner in the 26:74 joint venture, and is paying the JV company about $500 million over a five-year period for managing its landline and broadband business in about 100 cities for the next five years.
The deal is estimated to be worth up to $1 billion over a five-year period, industry sources familiar with the development said even as Kohli refused to put a value to the contract size.
"We will form a JV and have a stake in the company to which we award this contract," Kohli added. ET first reported in August 2009 that Bharti would outsource the management of its inter-city fibre network, the physical cables on which voice and data signals travel between cities.
Bharti Airtel operates optical fibre cable network of over 100,000 route kilometres. Bharti Airtel is also set to renew its multi-billion network-outsourcing contracts with Ericsson and Nokia Siemens this year.
State-owned telco BSNL, which has the largest fibre network in the country, comprising about 600,000 km route is also set to invite bids from segment players in February to outsource the management of its network.
According to executives with the PSU, the deal is would be closed in the second half of this fiscal. BSNL's network outsourcing contract is expected to be worth over additional $1 billion over a five-year period.
Bharti Airtel and BSNL contracts could well be the largest outsourcing deals in the country this calendar year.
In April 2009, Bharti Airtel entered into a joint venture with Franco-American telecom gear-maker Alcatel-Lucent to manage its landline and broadband business. Bharti is the minority partner in the 26:74 joint venture, and is paying the JV company about $500 million over a five-year period for managing its landline and broadband business in about 100 cities for the next five years.