TM defends choice of vendors for $3b broadband project

Robert Clark | November 02, 2009

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Telekom Malaysia has defended the choice of Alcatel-Lucent and three Chinese vendors to supply equipment to its RM11.3 billion ($3.3b) broadband project.

Alcatel-Lucent, Huawei Technologies, ZTE Corp and Fiberhome Technologies have won the main contracts for the high-speed broadband (HSBB) project, Business Times has reported.

The decision provoked a complaint from the parochial Malay Chamber of Commerce Malaysia (DPMM), which said the carrier should have provided more contracts to local players.

TM's group chief executive officer Datuk Zamzamzairani Mohd Isa To said in a statement that to minimize risk, “it only makes sense for TM to conduct an open tender process to principal vendors.”

”This will also minimize business risk to our local companies while enabling them to gain technology transfer and upgrade their capabilities,” he added.

He said as part of the tender criteria, the main contractors must have a local contractor as their partner.

The four vendors are responsible for deploying four HSBB projects – a multi-service access network (MSAN), SDH/DWDM, FTTH and metro Ethernet.

Huawei and ZTE will carry out the MSAN network project; Alcatel-Lucent and Fiberhome the SDH/DWDM; Huawei and Alcatel-Lucent the FTTH; and Huawei, ZTE and Alcatel-Lucent the metro-Ethernet deployment.

Five local companies have been tapped as sub-contractors.

DPMM said it would make a formal complaint to the prime minister about the matter.

Source:

Robert Clark