UTStarcom Awards BSNL Deal to IBM

IBM (NYSE: IBM), in collaboration with UTStarcom, has commenced work for Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd. (BSNL) to provide end-to-end networking solutions and services for the deployment of 2.8 million lines of DSLAM (Digital Subscriber Line Access Multiplexer) in approximately 900 cities throughout India.

BSNL will use the network to deliver real-time applications and high-speed Internet, and to effectively handle ever-increasing broadband subscriber traffic. The solution will enable BSNL to offer new broadband-based, multi-play services such as IPTV, video on demand (VoD), video multicast, VPN services, and high-speed Internet services across the country. In addition, the solutions being supplied by IBM and UTStarcom will provide the operator with network flexibility, scalability for innovation and a rapid return on investment.

"The robust SOA-based architecture that IBM will implement will help BSNL meet the challenge of supporting a distributed OSS/BSS environment," said Vivek Gupta, vice president of telecom, IBM India. "IBM brings experience and expertise through its large resource base in India and a proven credibility in our delivery model for telecom operators. We are confident that this win will further strengthen our presence in the fastest-growing telecom market in the world."

UTStarcom will serve as the turnkey provider for this deployment and will maintain responsibility for the design, planning, deployment, service roll out and maintenance of the network. IBM India will leverage its best-of-breed solutions to provide the necessary IT infrastructure for the network, including OSS/BSS (operations and business support systems) components.

"The scale of this BSNL deployment required us to set forth stringent criteria for our partner's technical and commercial eligibility. In addition, we were looking for a partner that had the expertise and experience and a proven track record for similar deployments," said Vijay Yadav, Managing Director, UTStarcom. "We are excited and happy to work with IBM on one of the largest networking projects in India."

IBM will implement an SOA architecture that will integrate the components of BSNL's geographically dispersed operational support systems. The solution will leverage IBM's Websphere Business Integration Suite message broker as part of the SOA connectivity and reuse strategy. The solution provides a Web-based portal that links the critical tasks of service change and provisioning with back-end systems, authenticating and collaborating when initiating the request. It also enables robust integration with centralized Order Management and Provisioning systems to allow for end-to- end business process visibility.

With an estimated 20 million broadband subscribers by 2010, India presents an enormous opportunity to offer the broadband services that consumers are demanding. The Government of India has declared 2007 as "The Broadband Year" and BSNL, being a government-owned corporation, has embarked on a major expansion to meet this objective through these initiatives.

The contract was signed in March 2007. -IBM