The Hindu Business Line : BSNL factories may make hi-tech equipment

New Delhi, July 15In a bid to revive its manufacturing arm, Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd is mandating its telecom factories to move into production of equipment based on newer technologies including broadband modem and SIM cards for mobile phones.

BSNL has seven telecom factories which at present manufacture equipment such as coin box telephone for Public Call Offices and optic fibre cable accessories used by fixed line operators. BSNL is also exploring the option of entering into a joint venture for manufacturing CDMA based fixed wireless terminals.

The telecom factories with a combined turnover of Rs 550 crore are located at Kolkata, Gopalpur, Kharagpur, Jabalpur, Bhillai, Richhai and Mumbai. The move is in line with the Government’s strategy to shift all its telecom manufacturing companies to high-end technology equipment.

Local production low

Indian Telephone Industries, for example, has ventured into GSM equipment and is now looking to foray into production of CDMA and Wi-Max technologies. Until now, multinational firms such as Nokia, Ericsson and Alcatel have set up manufacturing base in India but there has been no significant contribution by any of the Indian telecom manufacturers.Manufacturing by local companies has been limited to old technologies such as fixed line switches. But with most service providers deploying next-generation networks, Indian manufacturing firms have failed to keep pace with the changing technology.

Even the private sector has not been able to throw up any big names in telecom gear production.

In contrast, initiatives by the Chinese Government has resulted in the growth of locally bred companies like ZTE and Huawei, which are now suppliers of high-end telecom gear not just in China but also in the global market.

New opportunities

Market watchers said that though India may have missed the bus as far as mobile technologies such as GSM and CDMA, it has the opportunity to take the lead in new standards such as Wi-Max and VoIP. C-DoT, for instance, has developed the technology for Wi-Max based broadband modems which could become a major product in the coming years.

BSNL’s telecom factories are also exploring opportunities in new technology areas.

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