BSNL awards Rs 1,000-crore Wi-Fi contract to L&T-led consortium

NEW DELHI: Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd (BSNL) has awarded a contract worth Rs 1,000 crore to a Larsen & Toubroled consortium to set up more than 35,000 public Wi-Fi hotspots by March 2018. “We have decided to roll out phase through our own capex (capital expenditure) model to deploy 35,500 Wi-Fi hotspots across the country by March 2018,” BSNL Chairman Anupam Shrivastava told ET.

The contract was awarded through a recent open tendering process, according to BSNL. The company aims to offer data services through these hotspots at speeds faster than those offered over fourthgeneration (4G) technology.

L&T together with UTStarcom, Elitecore and Cisco will provide hardware solutions. Equipment has been procured and installation is expected to start this month, according to Shrivastava.

The company set up 4,500 Wi-Fi hotspots in the first phase of the programme through a revenue-sharing model with local partners and systems integrators.

Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL)