14 Sep, 2008, 1050 hrs IST, PTI
NEW DELHI: State-run BSNL will bid for the outgoing international call routing tender of MTNL.
"The company would participate in the tender and there is no PSU angle. It is just commercial consideration as BSNL has ILD infrastructure," a senior BSNL official told reporters.
MTNL proposes to invite sealed bids from eligible Indian ILD operators for routing its international traffic of MTNL Delhi and Mumbai to various destinations around the world through an open tender. The bids will open in the last week of September. The likely date is September 23.
MTNL, which operates in Delhi and Mumbai and holds an ILD licence largely depends on other operator's network as it doesn't have its own infrastructure ready till date.
At present the PSU operator's international traffic is mainly routed by Tata Communication.
The fresh invitation from MTNL implies that it is looking at other ILD operators who can carry its outgoing ILD traffic at cheaper price than the prevailing rates, said MTNL officials.
However, the company is in the process of laying down its own submarine cable which would connect India to other countries like Singapore and Malaysia. The undersea cable can cut down ISD tariffs as the operational costs would fall substantially.
At present, the company charges in the range of Rs 6.40 to Rs 9.20 per minute for ISD calls to the US, Europe, Africa and Gulf countries.
Bharti Airtel, Reliance Communications, Tata and BSNL are the other ILD operators in the country
"The company would participate in the tender and there is no PSU angle. It is just commercial consideration as BSNL has ILD infrastructure," a senior BSNL official told reporters.
MTNL proposes to invite sealed bids from eligible Indian ILD operators for routing its international traffic of MTNL Delhi and Mumbai to various destinations around the world through an open tender. The bids will open in the last week of September. The likely date is September 23.
MTNL, which operates in Delhi and Mumbai and holds an ILD licence largely depends on other operator's network as it doesn't have its own infrastructure ready till date.
At present the PSU operator's international traffic is mainly routed by Tata Communication.
The fresh invitation from MTNL implies that it is looking at other ILD operators who can carry its outgoing ILD traffic at cheaper price than the prevailing rates, said MTNL officials.
However, the company is in the process of laying down its own submarine cable which would connect India to other countries like Singapore and Malaysia. The undersea cable can cut down ISD tariffs as the operational costs would fall substantially.
At present, the company charges in the range of Rs 6.40 to Rs 9.20 per minute for ISD calls to the US, Europe, Africa and Gulf countries.
Bharti Airtel, Reliance Communications, Tata and BSNL are the other ILD operators in the country
Source: ET
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