Smart Offered Least Expensive Proposal for G.O.B. Microsoft Contract

Today, News Five sought comment from Smart on criticism over their successful bid for the renewal of the Government of Belize’s Microsoft contract. They told us a release would be issued in the coming days. As we have reported, official government documents obtained by News Five show that Smart did offer the least expensive proposal for its software subscriptions. Contrary to reports circulating on social media suggesting that Smart is not an authorized reseller of Microsoft Office 365 Products, the document lists Smart as an authorized reseller.  It further reveals that while Smart Belize made one proposal, that proposal was a one-year subscription and the lowest proposal made for that period of time. Two additional authorized resellers, Belize Telemedia Limited and Inova Solutions made two submissions each.  B.T.L.’s one-year proposal was valued at three-point-five million dollars, while its three-year proposal was valued at ten-point-six million dollars. On Wednesday, the United Democratic Party called for the contract to be rescinded and for Smart to refund the money already paid to government.