Nokia Siemens Networks has given up the option to take a 40 percent stake in Indian operator BSNL’s GSM expansion plans. Last month Mobile Business Briefing reported that BSNL was considering withdrawing the US$875 million contract from the vendor after talks between the two companies broke down on financial issues. “We aren’t taking it,” Nokia Siemens Networks’ Chief Executive Simon Beresford-Wylie told Dow Jones Newswires this week. “We want to be prudent and not chance every deal at any price.”

Ericsson has already won a US$1.3 billion contract to lay 60 percent of the 22.75 million lines. According to the Hindustan Times in India, BSNL has contacted Ericsson about whether it can handle the remaining portion of the deal.