PHD Chamber asks BSNL to allow local companies to bid for undersea cable maintenance contract

NEW DELHI: The PHD Chamber of Commerce and Industry has sought immediate intervention from the telecom, IT and law minister Ravi Shankar Prasad to prevent state-owned Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) from awarding the undersea telecom cable maintenance contract to a consortium, and said that the domestic companies should be allowed.

In a letter to Prasad dated December 6, 2019, seen by ETT, PHD Chamber’s Telecom Committee chairman Sandeep Agarwal said that in a fair process, a global tender allowing local companies would be much needed to facilitate the stressed domestic sector.

The state-owned telecom carrier, however, is in the process to nominate the consortium parties of the South East Asia and Indian Ocean Cable Maintenance Agreement (SEAIOCMA) for the maintenance of the Chennai-Andaman and Nicobar Islands (CANI) submarine cable system which according to the industry is arbitrary.