The Digital Transformation Agency has named the first 26 panelists that will support the government’s telecommunications needs for up to the next nine years. The agency officially launched the new telecommunications marketplace on Monday after pushing back its launch earlier this year in response to COVID-19. The panel replaces the 2016 telecommunications services panel, which was due to expire at the end of November, as well as the expired mobile panel and telecommunication management panel.
The DTA has been planning the overhaul for more than 18 months to shift the government’s telco buying scheme to a “flexible outcomes based” converged services model. It is the latest in a series of reforms to co-ordinated buying schemes as recommended by an ICT procurement taskforce in August 2017. The new panel is mandatory for agencies and covers 11 categories, including data, internet, fixed voice carriage services, and managed voice, network and router services. It will also cover contact centre systems, enterprise mobility services that were previously covered under the mobile panel, as well as unified comms, dark fibre and satellite services.
New panelists include Nexon Asia Pacific. The DTA is expected to add further suppliers to the panel in the future.
“The new telecommunications marketplace delivers a service that helps agencies to continue their digital transformation,” DTA sourcing general manager Lucy Poole said.
“It will be launched through the ICT procurement portal with new functions to make buying and selling even easier, and will be the go-to platform for selling telecommunications to government.”
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