The appointment of Li Jian Jun as the CEO by replacing Yan Xiao, comes at a time when the Chinese company is struggling to grow its business in the country. The new chief executive has been in India for many years and handled various telecom operators in the country. Sources said that ZTE this year applied for the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) approval for its participation in BSNL’s phase nine tender’s upcoming request for proposals (RFPs).
A ZTE India spokesperson previously told ET that it was becoming tough for the company to run BSNL's network in the absence of payments from the telco. Other than the GSM network, ZTE is involved in many other projects which are ongoing at BSNL. The company had also submitted applications with all private telecom companies for 5G trials, which are yet to take place in the country.
ZTE currently maintains networks in three circles for Vodafone Idea and six service areas for state-run Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd. Even state-run telcos are under increasing government pressure to stop sourcing equipment from Chinese vendors.
Airtel is in the process of replacing ZTE with Nokia as the main 4G network equipment supplier in Punjab for future expansion and modernisation. Other than Punjab, ZTE provides 4G network equipment to Airtel in Haryana and Kolkata.
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