Public procurement notice: Voluntary Ex Ante Transparency Notice
Published: 2018-06-16
Buyer: Direktoratet for samfunnssikkerhet og beredskap (DSB)
Country: NO
Contract type: Services
Procedure: Contract award without prior publication
CPV classification: 32500000 | 72250000: System and support services
Estimated value: 1000000000 NOK

Technical requirements: Maintenance and support as well as necessary supplements and completion of control rooms and control room equipment
DSB intends to enter into a contract with Frequentis AG for continued support and maintenance of control rooms connected to the Emergency Network. The contract also includes necessary supplements and completion of control rooms and control room equipment. All equipment included as part of the control room system for existing users of the Emergency Network. The contract will be valid for five - 5- years from the commissioning date, with an option for an extension for one -1- year at a time until 22.12.2026.
It is the existing equipment that is to be maintained and supported, which consists of software and hardware that is produced and owned by Frequentis. Only Frequentis has the rights to maintain and support the proprietor equipment. According to the Public Procurement Regulations § 13-4 letter b nos. 2 and 3, only the chosen supplier can carry out support and maintenance of the existing equipment.
The contract also includes Frequentis proprietor equipment for the control rooms. This is equipment that cannot be from another make or manufacturer than Frequentis, as products from other manufacturers would not be compatible with the existing system.
Integrating control room equipment from other suppliers is neither technically or operationally possible without enormous extra costs and a large operational risk. The control rooms handle emergency calls for the police, health service, fire service, rescue service, etc., which are decisive for efficient and life-saving efforts, fighting criminality, dealing with terror plots, major accidents and natural disasters. The contract thus covers safety-critical communication and the criticality in the system makes it necessary to continue with uniform systems for the departments that use the Emergency Network. Therefore, based on the procurement´s purpose, it is necessary to procure original products from Frequentis, cf. the Public Procurement Regulations § 15-1(4) letter a. Due to a monopoly, it is only Frequentis who can deliver these products in Norway.
The contract also includes some industry standard equipment, i.e. equipment that is not Frequentis proprietor. However the proprietor and non-proprietor equipment work together and interact with each other. A change of supplier for the industry standard equipment would affect Frequentis'support liability for the interaction between their equipment and the non-proprietor equipment. This could lead to significant challenges as to who is liable if an error occurs, which in turn involves an unacceptable risk of an error not being corrected sufficiently quickly and efficiently.
The contract is, thus being awarded for maintenance and support as well as the delivery of both proprietor and non-proprietor equipment.
The contract will be signed without a prior notice, pursuant to the Public Procurement Regulations § 13-4 letter b nos. 2 and 3, as the services, due to technical reasons and monopolies, can only be delivered by the chosen supplier. See the justification in point II.2.4)
Support and maintenance as well as necessary supplements and completion of control rooms and control room equipment.


Winner: Frequentis AG
Award value: 1000000000