The public sector telecom operator Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) has given Tata Consultancy Services an advance purchase order (APO) worth more than Rs 15,000 crore.

 

The Centre for Development of Telematics (C-DoT) and Tejas Networks are members of the TCS-led consortium that will execute this order.

 

“The consortium led by Tata Consultancy Services Limited has received an Advance Purchase Order valued over Rs15,000 crore from BSNL, a 100% Govt. of India owned Public Sector Undertaking, for the deployment of a 4G network across India,” TCS wrote in a note to exchanges.

 

This contract, which has an APO value of roughly $1.8 billion, is also one of the biggest ones the major provider of IT services has closed in recent quarters. Its largest transaction completed during the quarter of January through March had a value of almost $750 million.

 

With this agreement, the Tata Group consortium might be pitted against major international firms like Ericsson, Nokia, and Huawei as a local provider of telecom network solutions.

 

Although BSNL has been discussing the rollout of 4G services since 2019, in 2020 it was compelled to cancel a bidding because of onerous requirements for domestic enterprises.

 

Following that, the government instructed the telecom operator to use only equipment made in the country. As part of a Rs 200 crore POC, BSNL has previously collaborated with TCS, Tejas Networks, and C-DoT (Centre for Development of Telematics) to test domestic 4G technology.