KATHMANDU: The Nepal Telecom is opting to cancel the contract with Huawei International Singapore about awarding for the “Installation and Commissioning of Point of Interconnection”, which was initiated without adhering to a formal bidding process.
Nepal Telecom’s handling of the process concerning the ‘Point of Interconnection’ contract with Huawei encountered issues.
The contract, initially awarded to Huawei International Singapore, has been swiftly put on hold and is currently undergoing a cancellation procedure.
According to a reliable source at the Nepal Telecom, the bidding process exhibited partiality as only the Chinese technology firm ‘Huawei International Singapore’ participated, raising concerns about an emerging monopoly within Nepal Telecom.
Subsequently, the matter has progressed to the evaluation committee and is now in the midst of a cancellation procedure.
This turn of events unfolded due to the incomplete nature of the contract process.
The decision to entrust Huawei with Nepal Telecom’s sensitive ‘interconnection technology’ was met with opposition from prominent Nepal Telecom personnel, alongside concerns from regulatory authorities.
Since the contract process was left incomplete, Nepal Telecom’s sensitive ‘Interconnection Technology’ was under consideration for provision to Huawei.
However, this decision faced opposition from Nepal Telecom’s senior personnel, and regulatory authorities also expressed concerns.
Despite the regulatory authority’s growing concerns about the potential unfair business deal and monopoly within Nepal Telecom, the cancellation process was eventually initiated.
Adding to the situation, the Commission for the Investigation for Abuse of Authority (CIAA) has commenced an inquiry into potential instances of unfair business dealings and the emergence of monopolistic practices within Nepal Telecom.
Following a technical evaluation, Nepal Telecom deemed three out of the four companies vying for the contract as technically ‘unqualified’.
Interconnection-related issues are ranked by many countries as the single most important problem in the development of a competitive marketplace for telecommunications services.
Interconnection exemplifies the importance of the role that telecommunications regulators have on interconnection, which is the linking of telecommunications networks so that customers of one network can communicate with customers of another network, is important for several reasons.
This leaves only ‘Huawei International Singapore’, a company utilizing Chinese technology, in the running for the bidding process. This move prompts questions about fairness and transparency.
Among the participants, Jenyu Technology China, Genex Nepal with Huawei Solutions, and Sitius Nepal-VIS Global Australia-NIT Venture faced disqualification.
Under these circumstances, it is expected that the financial terms proposed by Huawei will remain unchanged within the contract.
At present, the ongoing contract negotiations point towards Nepal Telecom’s decision to proceed with Huawei’s ‘solution’ to update the ‘interconnection technology’. This technology connects the services of various mobile operators within the country and beyond.
However, highly-placed sources at the Nepal Telecom told Khabarhub that the process is currently on hold for the time being and it likely to be cancelled.
“NTC is forming a new evaluation committee and the contract will be formally cancelled soon,” the source told Khabarhub.
It’s worth noting that Huawei had previously secured a telecom interconnection contract, and has been a vendor for this work for nearly a decade.
Telecom officials indicate that during the third call for the contract, only Huawei Singapore met the eligibility criteria.
This prompted the decision to open the financial proposal for the contract on August 14, 2023.
However, some within Nepal Telecom contend that since Huawei had been awarded the contract in the past, there might not be a necessity for a financial bidding process this time around.
The contract evaluation process, which commenced on July 14, 2021, faced hurdles as all three participating companies were disqualified.
Among the participants, Jenyu Technology China, Genex Nepal with Huawei Solutions, and Sitius Nepal-VIS Global Australia-NIT Venture faced disqualification.
A second bidding attempt on July 1, 2022, witnessed a similar outcome, as all companies that participated in both rounds were disqualified.
Despite the presence of Genex Nepal with Jenyu Technology China and Huawei Solutions, both companies once again failed to secure the contract.
In this third round of bidding, only one company managed to meet the eligibility criteria, a development that has left Telecom officials perplexed.
They express dismay over the fact that a ‘solution’ that previously failed to qualify has now suddenly gained technical approval, bringing it close to entering the financial proposal stage.
Nepal Telecom officials, meanwhile, assert that past disqualifications were due to errors discovered in the documentation submitted by the bidding companies.
Notably, during the second round of bidding, a company that initially cleared the technical evaluation opted to withdraw, leading to the inclusion of new members in the evaluation committee. This move raised suspicions of favoritism.
Some telecom officials argue that unhealthy competition among vendors has contributed to the recurrent contract disputes.
It is worth noting that numerous countries, including but not limited to the United States, United Kingdom, India, Singapore, Brazil, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, European Union, Germany, France, Italy, and the Netherlands, have taken measures to exclude China’s Huawei from their 5G infrastructure.
They also highlight the issue of ‘vendor lock’, wherein a single company controls a majority of the telecom systems, further complicating the contracting process.
It’s important to highlight concerns surrounding Huawei’s activities both internationally and within Nepal.
Khabarhub’s regular coverage of the issue has led to heightened attention, with the CIAA also expressing worry that agreements with Huawei could potentially lead to complications within Nepal.
This concern is amplified by reported dissatisfaction among NT officials regarding Huawei’s services.
However, the Commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority (CIAA) said this particular issue does not come under its jurisdiction.
“The CIAA has commenced an inquiry into potential instances of unfair business dealings within Nepal Telecom,” a CIAA source said.
Notably, the apprehensions over Huawei’s actions extend beyond Nepal, encompassing various countries including the United States.
Furthermore, the deployment of 5G technology has raised suspicions due to its limited rollout without complete transparency to the public.
Reports suggest that comprehensive information about the testing and quality assurance of 5G, as outlined in the contract, is vital for public awareness.
Several countries, such as the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and Japan, have either imposed bans or restrictions on the utilization of equipment manufactured by the high-risk Chinese vendor, Huawei.
This is particularly evident in the unanimous agreement among all 27 EU member states in 2020, affirming their legislative authority to prohibit or regulate the use of equipment produced by Shenzen-based companies like Huawei and ZTE in their respective 5G networks.
It is worth noting that numerous countries, including but not limited to the United States, United Kingdom, India, Singapore, Brazil, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, European Union, Germany, France, Italy, and the Netherlands, have taken measures to exclude China’s Huawei from their 5G infrastructure.
Khabarhub published a story recently saying that despite being labeled a security risk by the U.S. and European governments, Huawei, the Chinese telecom giant, is conducting 5G testing in Nepal with little transparency, raising concerns about its potential monopoly in the country’s telecom sector.
It is testing 5G technology opaquely in Nepal using a frequency of 2600 MHz, with suspicions that it aims to establish a monopoly in Nepal’s telecom sector.
This has raised concerns among authorities and triggered an investigation by the Commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority (CIAA) over potential corruption issues.
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