Developments in European information issues: Networks and relays – Services – Products, February 1999

TED free

From January 1999 the TED database is now free of charge at http://ted.europ.eu.int/. For access the old passwords will continue to be valid. Alternatively the guest password can be used. Paper publication of the Official Journal S Supplement ceased at the end of June 1998 and the database will now be distributed only in electronic format. The CD ROM introduced as an alternative to print will be available on subscription at 492 euros + VAT for five disks per week, or twice weekly at 204 euros + VAT. Individual CD ROMs will also be sold at 2.50 euros + VAT. It will now be possible to use the CD ROM on a Local Area Network at no additional charge. The PDF format, however, will disappear as, from April 1999, TED will be the responsibility of new contractors. They are developing a new version which will have a common interface with the new web version of the database. Search profiles and greater flexibility are just a couple of the features which are to be improved. On-line access via X.25 connections, direct dialling and telnet will continue until 31 March but CCL searching will no longer be available after that date. Another change already in place is the new version of the CPV (Common Procurement Vocabulary) in use from 1 January 1999. It is worth being aware that it applies to records with a publication date of 1999 but not those published in 1998 which are still valid.

New - and old - visitors to the web version of TED may have experienced even more difficulty in gaining access, presumably from the extra demand now that it is freely available. For those who do manage to break through, results displays are often so slow that sessions may time out before records are retrieved. As openness and transparency in the awarding of contracts as well as equal opportunity to participate are key elements of the Single Market, it is to be hoped that the new version will offer a more efficient service. The fact that it is free is not an acceptable excuse.