In Spain, a tender board has annulled a telecommunications services contract awarded to a consortium led by Telefónica. The reason was the lack of a mandatory equality plan by one of the members.
The board determined that the consortium, headed by a Telefónica subsidiary, is excluded from lot 3, which covers data center interconnection, security, and internet services. This is part of the "Consolidated Telecommunications Services of the General State Administration and other public bodies" project (Phase III).
According to the minutes, the company Govertis Advisory Services, which provided the consortium's technical solvency, has over 50 employees but, despite being legally required, lacks a registered equality plan. The board, verifying this in the official registry, found that the absence of registration is a cause for prohibition on contracting under the Public Sector Contracts Law.
The document specifies that this company from the Telefónica group was responsible for the consortium's technical solvency, so the lack of a plan directly impacts the suitability of the bid.
Before the resolution, the TdE-TSOL consortium attempted to replace Govertis with Telefónica Cybersecurity & Cloud Tech (TCCT), another group company, arguing that TCCT had already developed the necessary capabilities. However, the board rejected the change, stating it would involve modifying the offer out of time and completing the solvency after the submission deadline, violating the principles of equal treatment, transparency, and free competition.
The agreement states that if the contracting authority confirms the exclusion, lot 3 will be left without a bid, as there are no other bidders with a classified offer for that portion of the contract. Furthermore, a consultation has been raised with the contracting authority regarding the possible repercussions on lot 1, which shares the same proposed awardee.
