18 bidders seen for new India mobile lines

NEW DELHI, April 10 (UPI) -- Indian telco BSNL's plan to add more than 45 million lines for wireless phones has drawn interest from 18 potential bidders for the job.

Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd. plans to open bids May 10 for the project that will expand its GSM wireless network. GSM is a common technology for third-generation wireless telephony.

"Eighteen companies have bought the tender document," BSNL sokesman AK Sinha told reporters Monday. "Virtually all the big players are there, such as Siemens, Nortel, Nokia, Motorola, Huawei, Sun Micro Systems, HP and some other smaller companies."

Press Trust India said the BSNL expansion totals 63 million lines; however, about 30 percent are reserved for other carriers.