The Bharat Broadband Nigam Limited (BSNL) has canceled Rs 19,000 crore tender that was being floated for connecting villages in 16 states of the country with high speed broadband networks, following a lack of eligible bidders for the same. The project was rolled out in June last year, approved by the Centre. The project was divided into 9 packages and tenders for each were floated separately.
However a source from BSNL told the PTI that there were participation from some firms, bids were evaluated but participants failed to qualify. “The tender will be floated again after feedback from the industry. The government is committed to connecting remote villages with broadband at the earliest”, said a source whose didn’t want the identity to be revealed.
The government opted for a public-private partnership after the state owned firm faced several hardships in
expediting the projects and also missed important deadlines.