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Business News – 4G trials: BSNL wants TCS, ITI to comply with EoI conditions

The private operators use 40-watt and 80-watt radios for 4G networks. According to industry executives, 20-watt radios are used at some places by private players to offer 2G services, but nobody is using it for 4G.

State-run BSNL, which is undertaking trials to test the 4G solution of TCS and ITI, has asked the firms to deploy equipment in accordance with the conditions specified in the expression of interest (EoI). The directive came after TCS and ITI submitted a revised solution for doing trials at Chandigarh and Ambala locations, wherein it has been mentioned that 20-watt radios are to be deployed, as against the requirement of 40-watt radios.

The private operators use 40-watt and 80-watt radios for 4G networks. According to industry executives, 20-watt radios are used at some places by private players to offer 2G services, but nobody is using it for 4G. Also, utilising a 20-watt radio increases the requirement to put up more sites. For instance, if BSNL aims to roll out 1 lakh sites across the country using 40-watt radios, the site requirement would double in case the power is reduced to 20 watts. On top of that, there will be other ancillary costs like increased use of diesel, rentals and maintenance etc.

Although TCS and ITI have informed BSNL about deployment of 40-watt radios also, the numbers are very low compared to 20-watt radios. For instance, the companies have mentioned about deployment of eight 20-watt radios in Band 1 (2100 MHz) and five 20-watt radios in Band 41. But for 40-watt radios, the numbers are 2 for Band 41 and 5 for Band 1.

“In this regard, attention of TCS and ITI is hereby drawn to the clause no 9.3.5 of Section-3 part B of the EoI dated January 1, 2021 wherein it has categorically been specified that the eNode-Bs shall have 40 watt (4*40W with 4*4 MIMO),” BSNL said in a letter to TCS and ITI, a copy of which has been seen by FE.

In addition, a query has been raised by one of the prospective bidders seeking confirmation that for the purpose of trials, the 20 units in Band 1 and 5 units in Band 41 can be 4*4 MIMO-capable, with a transmit power of 20 watts per port, as long as the vendor undertakes to supply 40 watts per port. “However, this was replied stating the “as per EoI clause”, which means that the request was not agreed to by BSNL,” the letter said.

The letter further said it is requested to deploy the proof of concept (PoC) or trial equipment in accordance with the conditions of EoI and expedite the offering of the trial equipment for testing by the PoC committee.

This is not the first time that BSNL has raised issues around trials by TCS. Earlier, BSNL had raised a red flag when TCS proposed 128 deviations in product specifications. The company had claimed that accepting the deviations could jeopardise its business prospects and impact customer experience.

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