WiFi-access in trains will be organized by "subsidiary" of the Russian Railway: Other applicants tear and throw

The "subsidiary" of the Russian Railway - "Federal Passenger Company" (FPC) transporting the main a part of passengers in Russia in the distant message decided to equip more than 3600 cars of trains with the equipment for Internet access. The project will mention about 200 long distance trains in all 15 branches of the company.

Competition with the starting price of 955 million rubles for implementation of an information backbone in cars of the corporate trains FPC was announced in the middle of July, 2016.^[1] of September the company opened the participant list and their offers.

Applications for participation in purchase were submitted by six companies: RDL-Telecom (together with Modern TEConts company), Regioncom, Tver Carriage Works, Transtelecom, "New Transport Technologies" (together with "Dizelremgruppoy") and "Technoserv of AS".

The greatest decrease in the starting price offered Technoserv and "Tver car-building the plant". The largest Russian IT integrator expressed readiness to satisfy terms of the contract for 592.9 million rubles excluding VAT (-27% of initial cost). TVZ offered the price of 644.1 million rubles, i.e. is 20% lower than the initial proposal of the customer.

Despite it their requests rejected. In general from six participants only two were allowed to tender - the Transtelecom operator belonging to the Russian Railway and Regioncom company. From all applicants these two companies made the most expensive offers: Transtelecom it is ready to execute the project for 786 million rubles, Regioncom - for 806 million rubles. At the same time experts of FPC recommended to declare as the winner Transtelecom.

Technoserv, TransTeleCom and TVZ fight for the right to equip trains with the WiFi-equipment

Without having agreed with such outcome, on September 28 Technoserv filed a complaint to the Moscow management of FAS. Department of TAdviser confirmed that "in the complaint the applicant points to an unreasonable rejection of the request". Technoserv refused comments.

The OFAS will consider the complaint on October 3. Meanwhile, in the evening on September 30 the tender committee of FPC decided to agree with experts and to declare as the winner Transtelecom. Organizers of tender refused to comment on claims of Technoserv.

The New Transport Technologies company also does not agree with result. "Certainly, our request is rejected unreasonably too", - the director of the company Artem Voronin told TAdviser. Whether New Transport Technologies will address with the complaint, he did not solve yet.

The interlocutor of TAdviser familiar with requests of participants of the tender is surprised to the fact that errors and inaccuracies in the technical proposals were allowed by all applicants, but in documents Transtelecom and Regioncom the commission of experts browsed defects.

One of the evident examples – the requirement to write the request completely in Russian. Having studied documents of applicants (are in open access), TAdviser found out that in the request of Transtelecom some parts are written in English. The same defect is in the technical proposal Regioncom. Documents of other applicants are processed in Russian.

Scope of work

Within the project the corporate trains FPC should be equipped with an information backbone - the hardware and software system providing Internet access and to the train portal which also should be developed and set within the project.

"The train portal" needs to be set on the server in the staff car of the train. With its help authenticated users will be able to obtain information on operability of all components of an information backbone.

Also the winner of purchase should install the equipment for work of a HSS and provide commissioning. Network elements of both wire, and wireless communication should be a part of a hardware and software system.

Connection of users to an information backbone should be provided with wireless access points of Wi-fi which need to be placed so that to provide 100% a covering of premises in the car. On access points 2 different SSID networks – open for passengers and hidden for personnel should be configured.

The switching nodes of an information backbone providing communication between cars should provide throughput with capability not less than 595 Mbps. The connecting pinches providing intercarriage connection on speed not less than 595 Mbps and also the two-conductor system interface of train broadcasting also should be a part of a HSS of an information backbone.

Rate of works on equipment of cars of corporate trains as the equipment of an information backbone should be not less than 214 cars (including not less than 10 staff) in a month after 30 calendar days from the moment of signing of the contract.

The initial cost of separate works is given in the table below.

Notes