Motorola has teamed up with BT Ireland to make a joint bid for a Government contract to build a broadband system in rural areas after Motorola's joint venture with the Irish Farmers' Association dropped out of the process.
Neither Motorola nor BT Ireland chose to comment on their new partnership, which is one of three groups that remain in the bidding process. The other bidders are Eircom and 3 Ireland, the mobile operator owned by Hong Kong group Hutchison Whampoa.
Motorola's joint venture with IFA Telecom, a telecoms offshoot of the farmers' association, was shortlisted alongside BT Ireland, Eircom and 3 Ireland by the Department of Communications, Energy and Natural Resources.
The Motorola-IFA group pulled out of the process some time after it was shortlisted last November.
The reasons for their withdrawal are unknown, although an IFA spokesman said it had "no falling out" with Motorola.
It is unclear when Motorola joined BT Ireland, but it is understood that their joint venture was among three groups named by the Department last Friday when it sent out an updated statement of requirements to bidders.
The attitude of rival bidders to Motorola's change of team is not known.
IFA Telecom had sought to leverage its business with some 35,000 rural customers in support of its joint bid with Motorola. The organisation, which offers landline and mobile services to its clients, might yet seek to execute a deal with the ultimate winner of the contract.
The IFA spokesman said it was not the case that Motorola had abandoned IFA Telecom in favour of a deal with BT Ireland.
"We chose Motorola on day one because they're a very reputable organisation in terms of technology. From IFA's perspective, with 85,000 members and 1,000 branches throughout the country, we're more acutely aware of the lack of broadband around the country than anyone else ," said the spokesman said.
"I can say that we have been approached by a number of other consortia to see how best a solution can be found for rural Ireland. We're looking at all the options and we want to make sure that a solution can be found for rural Ireland as soon as possible."
