Telecom vendors who have bagged orders for BSNL's 60 million GSM lines project may not be allowed to subcontract the order to others.

Telecom vendors who have bagged orders for BSNL's 60 million GSM lines project may not be allowed to subcontract the order to others. They may, however, be allowed to outsource from public sector equipment manufacturers. The tender, which is expected to be issued next month, is one of the world's largest tenders for GSM lines. The value of the order is estimated at $5 billion. The contract winners will have to supply equipment at the L1 (lowest) price quoted during the tendering process. Indian Telephone Industries (ITI) being the only Indian PSU involved in manufacturing GSM equipment, is likely to bag the contract for 15 million lines merely by participating in the tender.