Norway – Telecommunications services – Communication lines to Drammen municipality

Drammen municipality intends to enter into a contract with GlobalConnect AS for approx. 40 communication lines that are critical for the municipality ́s current service offer. There is a change of ownership between Sopra Steria and Drammen municipalities. The contract has a contract period of 36 months. Drammen municipality terminated the agreement 20 December 2024 with Sopra Steria AS for the operation of the municipality's clients, networks and Azure installation. In this connection, control must be ensured of communication lines that Sopra Steria owns, and which are procured as a service from GlobalConnect AS. The municipality owns a separate landline network with more than 200 locations. These form the tribe in one fixed line communication network, which in addition to the municipality ́s own lines consists of leased lines from the GlobalConnect. The rented lines typically go to municipal service residences and a number of other smaller services. Among the lines that the municipality takes back ownership of, are also two main lines into the municipality's computer room. It is the municipality ́s understanding that switching line providers for the lines is not a realistic alternative, taking into account the current time perspective of the operation takeover and the extensive work it would involve changing critical lines taken into account routing, network and firewall settings in other parts of the network. The change of a main line alone with the consequences that would have had on other settings in the fixed line network is considered to be such a comprehensive project, that it alone could well take up to one year. At the same time, the municipality can, in case of any cancellation of the services that GlobalConnect currently delivers to Sopra Steria, be exposed to requirements to compensate Sopra Steria for the expenses they would be inflicted as a function of the cancellation of lines procured with a long contract period. Consequently, it is not possible to hold a competition for technical reasons, cf. the Public Procurement Regulations § 13-4, first section, letter b no. 2. It would not have given a real competition to provide services with the time perspective that is available here and the scope of work this would cause when changing the line supplier. There are, thus, no other reasonable alternatives than using the lines from GlobalConnect to ensure stable and good network operation during this transition period.