ZTE bags BSNL deal

Telecommunications and network solutions provider ZTE Corporation on Tuesday bagged GSM deal from Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd. ZTE would support 10.15 million BSNL’s GSM lines across the country and thereby help increase its subscriber base, the company said in a statement.  Other companies such as Nokia Siemens and Ericsson had also applied for the project, but pulled out later. Under the partnership, ZTE would be planning, financing, engineering, supply, installation and testing, commissioning and annual maintenance of the GSM lines. “We are confident that this association will help BSNL offer competitive mobile communications that can meet the present and future telecommunication needs,” Mr Cui Liangjun, Chief Executive Officer, ZTE India, said.  The procurement of these lines for expansion of 2G and 3G services would cover all BSNL telecom circles in northern and southern zones, he said.