Indian telco Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd (BSNL) has extended its contract with US firm UTStarcom to support newly-planned expansions of BSNL's multiplay network, allowing extra subscribers to experience triple-play services.

In the first phase, UTStarcom deployed 1.3mn broadband subscriber lines for BSNL with an additional 1.1mn broadband subscriber lines during the second phase.  With the new expansion phase, UTStarcom will deploy its B1000 multi-service access node (MSAN) solution throughout India to add approximately 475,000 ports of capacity to BSNL's existing broadband network.

Subscribers with local loop access with thus be able to reach Internet speeds of up to 20 Mbps, giving increased options for the delivery of services such as IPTV, which BSNL has already started offering to customers in some areas in conjunction with its partners.  As the turnkey provider of multiplay network technology to BSNL, UTStarcom will maintain full responsibility for design, planning, deployment, service roll out and maintenance of the network.

“We worked closely with BSNL to successfully complete Phase I of this multiplay broadband network and are now nearing completion of Phase II,” said Vijay Yadav, vice president and managing director of UTStarcom’s South Asia operations. “By choosing UTStarcom for the expansion of its multiplay services network, BSNL understands our commitment to extending India’s broadband capabilities to all regions of the country. We are confident that the expansion will help BSNL increase market share while offering engaging, innovative services to end-users.”