IT and Communications Minister A Raja said on Monday he has advised Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited to drop the 3G component from its 45.5 million line GSM tender, citing the lack of a policy for implementing third generation network.

If BSNL were to take the minister's advice, the public sector company may have to reconsider disqualification of US equipment supplier Motorola and its Chinese partner ZTE from the tender -- a quarter of which was for rolling out 3G lines.

"I have advised BSNL to drop 3G and go for 2G as there is no 3G policy in the country," Raja told PTI. He, however, said it was for BSNL's Board to decide whether or not to go with the suggestion. BSNL had selected Sweden's Ericsson and Finland's Nokia for executing the contracts, while disqualifying Motorola on the ground that it did not have any expertise in 3G networks.

Motorola had taken BSNL to the Delhi High Court over the move, but it later dropped the case. Meanwhile, BSNL employees, who had threatened to strike work on July 11 against the delay in award of contracts, have assured the minister that they would not go ahead with the stir.

They had earlier contended that BSNL was losing market share owing to the delay in awarding contracts for adding capacity. "They have told me they will not strike work... but you have to ask them," Raja said.