Bulgaria's Telelink unit, Telcom Engineering win 55.4 mln euro govt comms system tender

The winning bid by the National System for Critical Communications consortium gave the lowest price out of three offers. The investor group was chosen over rival bidders Enterprise Communications Group and A1 Bulgaria, a unit of A1 Telekom Austria Group, the ministry said in its decision published last week.

The tender is financed under Bulgaria's EU-backed National Recovery and Resilience Plan.

The contract involves the delivery, installation and system integration of ICT equipment, fixed and mobile base terminals, hardware and software upgrades, a server system and smart phone-compatible terminals.

The ministry launched the public procurement tender on August 24, with a deadline of September 27.

Telecoms contractor Telcom Engineering, which was founded in 1990, built the first TETRA network on the Balkans and the first point-to-multipoint broadband data transmission system in Bulgaria, according to its website.

Telelink Business Services Group has previously been contracted by the interior ministry, including for the development and installation of an automated system for monitoring the border with Serbia.

(1 euro = 1.95583 levs)