New Delhi: State-run Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) has issued an Advance Work Order (AWO) worth Rs 1,901.11 crore to ITI Limited and its consortium partner Tera Software for the development and maintenance of the middle-mile broadband network in the Northeast Region-II, under Package 15 of the restructured BharatNet programme.
According to official documents, the AWO includes the design, supply, construction, installation, upgradation and operation and maintenance of the BharatNet middle-mile infrastructure across Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland and Manipur.
The total contract value breaks down into Rs 1,168.06 crore for capital expenditure (capex), Rs 700.84 crore for operating expenditure (opex) on the newly built infrastructure and Rs 32.21 crore as opex for the existing network.
Following the issuance of the AWO, BSNL and ITI are set to sign a formal agreement valid for 10 years. Subsequently, circle-wise work orders will be allocated based on route-specific plans and the approved AWO quantities.
This development comes months after ITI and its partners emerged as the lowest bidders (L1) for Packages 8 and 9 under BharatNet Phase-3 in Himachal Pradesh, West Bengal and the Andaman & Nicobar Islands, collectively valued at Rs 3,022 crore.
BharatNet Phase-3 is a key component of the Centre’s Rs 1.39 lakh crore flagship connectivity programme aimed at extending and upgrading digital infrastructure across rural India.
The third phase of the project follows a Design, Build, Operate, and Maintain (DBOM) model and comprises 16 packages across several states. It aims to expand broadband access to 47,000 additional gram panchayats and enhance connectivity in 164,000 previously covered areas.
However, last year it was reported that 21 bidders, including key players like TCIL, HFCL, STL and Polycab, had submitted proposals under BharatNet Phase-3.
While OFC manufacturers such as STL and Polycab submitted solo bids, 18 other players, including Megha Engineering, Rail Vikas Nigam Limited and Bharat Electronics Limited, formed consortia to compete.
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