UTStarcom wins Indian IP gear contract

India's state-owned telecom provider, Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd., has awarded an $8.2 million contract to UTStarcom to supply equipment for BSNL's multi-service telecommunications offering. The phone company is currently expanding its national TCP/IP Internet backbone. The expansion includes the launch of remote access services and related gear across 71 cities in 25 telecom regions in the country.

Many commercial companies in the competitive Indian telecom industry, as well as state agencies, are launching networks to enhance Internet access. This week, the Indian state of Kerala set up a wireless broadband network to provide Internet access and IP telephony in one of its districts that was unreachable by traditional means.