Ordyn pips global giants to bag BSNL order

In a move that may well signal the loss of supremacy of Chinese and European telecom equipment companies in the Indian market, Ordyn Technologies "� a home-grown telecom transmission equipment company that is based out of Bangalore "� has bagged a Rs 303 crore order from state-owned Bharat Sanchar Nigam (BSNL).

Ordyn bagged the contract after qualifying in a competitive bidding process in which global giants such as Huawei Technologies, ZTE, HFCL, IComm and Arasor took part.

In June last year, with an aim of improving its optical transmission networks, BSNL had issued a Rs 400 crore global tender for supply of synchronous digital hierarchy (SDH) equipment that converts electrical signals into optical signals at a speed 2500 Mbps.

In the first tranche, Ordyn was issued purchase order of Rs 303 crore, while another Rs 50 crore order is expected to reach the company in next one week, sources from Ordyn said.

"It's a demonstration of the fact that Indian telecom companies can come out with such a complex product for telecom transmission network, which was so far dominated by European and Chinese players. It's a statement of our Indian R&D capabilities," R Venkatesh, co-founder and CEO of Ordyn Technologies said.

BSNL has been one of the largest customers for Ordyn, and this is the first time that they have bagged an order of this scale.

Besides, Ordyn products are deployed for Indian Railways, Spice Telecom, Reliance Communication, China Telecom and the Telecom Italia network as well.

Ordyn, which was established in 2001, secured a funding of Rs 60 crore in early 2007 with a mix of debt and equity. This was led by CDC-promoted Aureos Capital with Rs 40 crore in equity, and another Rs 20 crore in a mix of debt and equity.

The company is exploring to raise about another Rs 60 crore in equity funding to support its R&D and export initiatives.

"We are looking at raising about $15 million in the next couple of months. The proposal is under the active consideration of our board. Once closed, this would provide us with the resources to take us to the next level of growth," Venkat Rajendran, executive chairman, Ordyn Technologies.

Ordyn had achieved a revenue of Rs 57 crore in fiscal 2006-07, up from Rs 5 crore it had clocked in the previous fiscal. In the current fiscal (2007-08), the company was looking at revenues of Rs 250 crore.

The company is also considering an IPO sometime in the future, although the date is yet to be decided.