June 11, 2014. MegaFon, a major telecommunications provider, announced the completion of a tender to do with the delivery of telecommunications equipment; several suppliers were decided upon, including the world's leader in the field of ICT solutions, Huawei, the company's press service reports.

The contract between MegaFon and Huawei is valid for seven years. This is a new approach on the Russian telecommunications market. The contract is worth several billion rubles and covers the delivery of equipment for the construction and upgrades of 2G/3G/LTE networks as well as software supply and maintenance.

Huawei's advantage lies in the fact that its equipment is widely used within MegaFon networl. The tender MegaFon coordinated in order to find suppliers fully meets the global transparency and efficiency standards. MegaFon assesses the supplier's offers not in terms of the purchase price but in terms of the full cost of owning the equipment and the software throughout their lifespan, based on the TCO (Total Cost of Ownership) principle. This approach made it possible for MegaFon to make an efficiently economic decision about buying equipment and software and to reduce operating costs relating to repairs and maintenance. The first economic effects stemming from more efficient equipment prices were observable as early as 2013, which allowed the company to retain its market leadership and invest in network development. The full scale of the TCO reduction in the capital and operational spending segment will become visible throughout 2014. MegaFon is now the technological leader on the Russian mobile communication market; in many respects, this is due to its efficient purchasing strategy.