Sony Ericsson Lands $1.2 Billion Order From BNSL

Sony Ericsson currently has 40% of India’s booming cell phone market, and now it will be getting even bigger as they announced that they have bagged a huge order from state run BNSL.

Under the contract, Ericsson will supply 13.12 million lines at 3,700 rupees ($90.94) per line, BSNL chairman Kuldeep Goyal told reporters on Friday.

Ericsson said in a statement the deal was worth $1.3 billion and would help it strengthen its position in India, where it has a market share of about 40 percent of connected subscribers.

State-run BSNL had originally tendered for more than 45 million lines but scaled back its plans during months of discussions with Ericsson and Nokia. In July, Ericsson said it was on the verge of securing a BSNL order.

Sony Ericsson had been hoping for an ever bigger order, but will obviously be well-pleased by this one anyway. BNSL is India’s third largest mobile carrier.