India's state-run telecom BSNL (Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd) has awarded an order worth 670 million Rupees (US$12.98 million; US$1=51.63 Rupees) to Indian networking company Gemini Communication for BSNL's rural mobile WiMAX project, Reuters India reported on March 3. Pointered Telecom, a Gemini Communication subsidiary, will thus take charge of supply, implementation, and maintenance of BSNL's rural mobile WiMAX in seven Indian telecom circles: Andhra Pradesh, Chennai, Gujarat, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Orissa, and Tamil Nadu. The goal of BSNL's rural mobile WiMAX project is to provide connectivity to 25,000 villages through common service centers across the country.

At the same time, BSNL is expected to announce the winner of its nationwide WiMAX equipment bid next week, India's Business Standard reported. Three front-runners have emerged from the competition: China's Huawei, US Telsima, and Israel-headquartered Alvarion. BSNL has earmarked US$1 billion for its nationwide WiMAX rollout.