Nortel has received a letter of intent from Indian telecom
Bharat Sanchar Nigam for new network equipment, a source close to the
process told internetnews.com.
The state-owned carrier is buying the equipment to expand its GSM
Asian country.
Nokia is expected to get the nod for an equipment order for
the northern part of Bharat Sanchar Nigam’s system, while Alcatel has been awarded a contract for the western region, according
to press reports from Asia.
If the deal is consummated it would be welcome news for Nortel, which has
been working to get its business and reputation back on solid ground in the
wake of an accounting scandal that forced out
its CEO.
The pending contract is also noteworthy because of its origin. In
the last year, India has grabbed headlines as an outsourcing hub, but it is
also becoming an attractive market for selling IT and telecom gear.
In its earnings call this week, Cisco Systems said that
business from India (as well as China and Russia) jumped
40 percent over the same period a year ago.
In separate Nortel news, the company expects to provide preliminary
un-audited results for the first and second quarters of 2004 and an update
on the restatement impacts on August 19, 2004.