Public procurement notice: Voluntary Ex Ante Transparency Notice
Published: 2017-08-12
Buyer: Bane NOR SF
Country: NO
Contract type: Services
Procedure: Contract award without prior publication
CPV classification: 32400000 | 32412000 | 32412100 | 32420000 | 32424000

Technical requirements: Bane NOR SF intends to enter into an agreement on 3rd line support (so called TAC 3) for equipment delivered by Alcatel-Lucent to Bane NOR's IP/MPLS transmission network.
Tenderers with questions about the service may contact Per Magne Olsen in Bane NOR using his e-mail Per.Magne.Olsen@banenor.no, with copy to steped@banenor.no
An agreement on 3rd line support (so called TAC 3) for equipment delivered by Alcatel-Lucent to Bane NOR's IP/MPLS transmission network. This means accessibility to profound system expertise for problems with network connections and train transport services. The agreement includes necessary update of software for circuit boards and management systems.
The agreement period is six years with the option to extend one year at a time for so long Bane NOR requires the service.
In December 2009 the former Norwegian National Rail Administration (from 01.01.17 Bane NOR SF) and Alcatel-Lucent Norway AS entered into an agreement after a call for competition for ‘….network elements and services for Bane NOR's telecommunication infrastructure’. The contract resulted in the establishment of what is technically referred to as an IP/MPLS based transmission network. The transmission network is used by Bane NOR as a carrier of important services for the Norwegian railway. This includes i.a. transmission of GSM-R, signalling services and all of the customer information services.
The same provider was also awarded a system support contract for the so-called 3rd line support (TAC 3) and regular upgrades of the software for errors/defects and new functionality with the same supplier. This system support contract was signed for 7 years, without a further extension being clarified in the form of an option.
Bane NOR performs the 1st and 2nd line support (customer requests and daily operation of the telecommunication infrastructure) implements new nodes and network structure changes. The support agreement is therefore limited to 3rd line support (so called TAC 3). This means accessibility to profound system expertise for problems with network connections and train transport services. The agreement includes necessary update of software for circuit boards and management systems.
The systems appear in principle as standardised, but the actual realisation of the functionality in an IP/MPLS network limits the standardisation. One of the consequences is that the hardware management system for these systems is not compatible with equipment from other suppliers, and vice versa. The different equipment nodes and systems are operated/managed by a proprietary software simultaneously with the nodes being centrally controlled by a so called element manager. The proprietary software and the lacking standardisation means that the hardware and software are connected to one service provider and its solutions and source code.
The hardware and particularly the software is normally upgraded 2-4 times a year. The upgrading includes i.a. error recovery and security updates.
Bane NOR therefore considers it to be statutory basis to enter into a contract with Alcatel-Lucent Norway AS without a prior tender contest in accordance with the Utility Regulations § 9-3, letter b, no. 2 ‘a call for competition is impossible due to technical reasons’.


Winner: Alcatel-Lucent Norway AS