Date:21/07/2006 URL: http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/2006/07/21/stories/2006072102832100.htm

Back Goa shortlists nine cos for bandwidth project

Our Bureau

Panaji , July 20

The Goa Government has shortlisted nine companies for its ambitious project of taking Goa broad band network (GBBN) to all households in the State by December 2007.

The last date for submission of quotations for the project has been fixed as August 16.

The Minister for Information Technology (IT), Mr Dayanand Narvekar, told the State Assembly during question hour on Wednesday that the public-private-partnership project would not require any investment from the State Government.

"The cost of the proposal will be known after receiving documents from the shortlisted companies," he said. The shortlisted companies include Airtel-IBM, Tata Consultancy Services, Reliance Infocom Ltd, Tata Tele Services Ltd, Finolex Cables and Global Tele Services Ltd, among others.

The project proposes to cover the length and breadth of Goa with optical fibre cables covering 11 taluks, 190 village panchayats and approximately three lakh households.