Ericsson asserts that it won 5G contract from DNB on merit

The Swedish multinational telecommunications giant said it was committed to ensuring that the DNB network becomes a showcase of the best that 5G can deliver in the region.

The 5G contract, according to DNB in July 2021, was awarded following the strictest standards of governance as advised and facilitated by EY Consulting, Ericsson said in a statement here today.

DNB had said Ericsson's offer was judged to be the most competitive as it ranked first in all three key components of the tender evaluation criteria.

They included three components, including the technical aspects covering overall 5G technology capabilities; 5G deployment capabilities; integration approach; cyber and network security; and operations and maintenance.

The second was commercial which covered financing proposal and total cost of ownership, and thirdly, the socioeconomic component which covered local development and positive socioeconomic impact.

Ericsson said it is committed to conducting business with integrity and strongly refutes any allegations that the contract with DNB was won for any reasons other than merit, based on the above-mentioned criteria.

The statement comes a day after PH Member of Parliament for Lembah Pantai Fahmi Fadzil urged the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) to probe the collaboration between DNB and Ericsson, saying that based on a news report, the telco had allegedly breached pacts and had compliance issues in a deal in Iraq in 2019.

He said that in the report, Ericsson was accused by the US Department of Justice (DoJ) of breaching terms of the 2019 deal with prosecutors by failing to properly disclose misconduct and compliance failures in Iraq.

In refuting these allegations, Ericsson said it will deliver a world class 5G experience in partnership with DNB, bringing fast and reliable connectivity to people and businesses, that will accelerate the country's digital transformation and enable Malaysia to embrace Industry 4.0.

Ericsson also said that it was named a Leader in the 2022 Gartner(R) Magic Quadrant(TM) for 5G Network Infrastructure for Communications Service Providers report, for the second year in a row, and also positioned highest for its Ability to Execute.

End-to-end 5G network infrastructure vendors were evaluated on how they enable IT provider performance to be competitive, efficient and effective, and to positively impact revenue, retention and reputation within Gartner's view of the market.

The assessment of Ability to Execute included Ericsson's products and services, operations, sales execution and pricing, market responsiveness and track record, marketing execution, customer experience, and overall viability, the telco said.

Those are the attributes that Ericsson says contributed to it being awarded the contract by DNB to deploy its 5G network throughout Malaysia.

It is a testimony to the strong capability and partnership of the Ericsson and DNB teams on ground that 5G has been launched in Malaysia in less than six months of the contract being awarded.

With the rollout being executed at an accelerated pace, 5G is already now available in Putrajaya, Cyberjaya and Kuala Lumpur, said Ericsson.