Bharti, BSNL to outsource fiber network management

India’s Bharti Airtel has called for bids so it can outsource the management of its fiber-optic cable network, the Economic Times reported, according to TeleGeography CommsUpdate.

The announcement follows similar indications last August  that the telco was looking to outsource the management and maintenance of its fiber infrastructure, which stretches for more than 100,000km.

Meanwhile, state-owned telco Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd (BSNL), which owns and operates India’s largest domestic fiber network, is also preparing to invite bids next month to outsource the management of its network; the telco expects to close a deal by the end of the second half of this fiscal year.