INDIA BUSINESS WORLD - March 16^th - March 31^st - 2008

NORTEL BAGS $100-MILLION CONTRACT FROM BSNL

Telecom equipment maker Nortel Networks said that it had won an order worth more than $100 million from Indian state-run telecom firm Bharat Sanchar Nigam (BSNL) to supply GSM lines in the southern part of the country. Nortel said in a statement the work was underway and expected it to be completed towards the end of 2008. A spokesman for Nortel in India, when contacted, declined to talk about the number of lines and the pricing. BSNL, which provides fixed-line and mobile services across much of India, has been hampered by inadequate infrastructure as it looks to take on a string of fast-growing and more nimble private players.