Ogero awards USD 283 mln fibre project to 3 equipment vendors

Lebanon’s state-owned internet company Ogero awarded a USD 283 million fibre-optic project to three companies, reports the Daily Star. Serta Channels-Huawei, BMB-Calix and PowerTech-Nokia will build the rest of Lebanon’s fibre-optic network, connecting the already-complete fiber backbone to streets and homes throughout much of the country. Once completed in 2020, the network promises to bring speeds of at least 50 Mbps to the vast majority of Lebanese internet users, more than ten times faster than many connections today. 

The winning local companies, Serta Channels, BMB and PowerTech, are paired with major international firms Huawei, Calix and Nokia, respectively, as equipment vendors. How the work will be divided among the three winners is yet to be decided. Ogero head Imad Kreidieh told The Daily Star that a strategy would be developed within a month, and that work may be divided based on geography or technology. Contracts should be signed in two to three weeks, and Kreidieh plans to launch implementation by 01 May. 

Kreidieh said five companies had purchased access to the tender documents and four had submitted bids. One was disqualified because it did not have a local presence. The remaining three were rated equal on technical capacity. Kreidieh said that because the project is so massive, a decision was made to bring all three companies on board – contingent on BMB-Calix and PowerTech-Nokia matching Serta Channels-Huawei’s bid, which was the lowest.