Award

Provision of a Telecommunications service for the Emergency Services of England, Scotland and Wales

SECRETARY OF STATE FOR THE HOME DEPARTMENT - HOME OFFICE (POLICE)

This public procurement record has 1 release in its history.

Award

19 Jan 2022 at 22:45

Summary of the contracting process

The Home Office, situated in London, has successfully completed the tender process for the "Provision of a Telecommunications Service for the Emergency Services of England, Scotland and Wales." This service falls under the telecommunications services category (CPV 64200000) and is pivotal for emergency communication across the UK. The procurement was initiated due to the critical need for a secure, private communications network, and the contract has been extended until 31 December 2026 to ensure stability during the transition to the new Emergency Services Network (ESN). The method employed was a limited award procedure without prior publication of a competition, due to the unique technical requirements which only the existing supplier, Airwave Solutions Limited, could meet.

This tender presents opportunities for businesses involved in telecommunications and emergency services technology, particularly those that can provide secure communication solutions. Companies specialising in private communications networks, digital radio technology, and integration with public safety systems would find themselves well-positioned to participate in future procurements as the Home Office continues to evolve its service provision. The ongoing developments related to the transition to the ESN may open avenues for additional contracts as new requirements emerge in the public safety sector.

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Notice Title

Provision of a Telecommunications service for the Emergency Services of England, Scotland and Wales

Notice Description

Provision of a secure, private communications network providing telecommunications for the emergency services of England Scotland and Wales, also providing the ability for the three emergency services to talk to each other and to other public safety organisations.

Lot Information

Lot 1

The Airwave network is the communications system used by the Emergency Services in Scotland, England and Wales, providing digital radio communications along with other functions such as telephony, text messaging and control room communication services. Airwave services are provided by Airwave Solutions Limited under a Home Office Framework Arrangement

Options: The Target National Shut Down Date of December 2026 can be extended at the discretion of the Authority.

Procurement Information

The Home Office meets the regulation 32 (2) (b) (ii) test as outlined below: The Airwave network is the communications system used by all the emergency services in Scotland, England and Wales. It is a secure private communications network, using land mobile, TETRA - TErrestrial Trunked RAdio technology, which enables the three emergency services to be able to seamlessly talk to each other (interoperate) during major incidents and also enables them to interoperate with other public safety organisations such as for example the Maritime and Coastguard Agency and mountain rescue teams. The Airwave network is a closed proprietary network owned and operated by Airwave Solutions Limited (a Motorola company). It is made available to the emergency services under four key contracts*(Contracts) made pursuant to the Home Office's PFI Framework Arrangement for the Public Safety Radio Communications Service (the FA). The Airwave network is critical national infrastructure (CNI) and Airwave is the only supplier of this network in Great Britain. No other TETRA network exists in GB nor is it possible for an alternative to TETRA to be developed, established and rolled out in the required timescales to ensure continuity of service demands and the technical and security requirements of the Emergency Services. There is no other suitable network in Great Britain that could be used by the emergency services until the new national Emergency Services Network (ESN) is brought into service. The ESN is intended to be the replacement network for the Airwave network and was originally expected to be developed and rolled out in 2022. There have been significant setbacks and delays in the development of the ESN, including the transition from the Airwave network to ESN. Those setbacks mean that the provision of the Airwave network has to be continued in the interim until the ESN is ready and has been fully tested and validated. The continuity and technical requirements necessitate an extension to the Contracts until 31 December 2026. Given that there is no other possible competitor that could provide an equivalent service to Airwave within the required timescales, trying to organise an accelerated competition would incur additional expenses/resources that would not make any difference to the outcome. *The Contracts are between: 1. Secretary of State for the Home Department and Airwave Solutions Ltd in respect of police access to Airwave - Contract value for the four year extension period: PS1,333,700,339 2. Secretary of State for the Home Department and Airwave Solutions Ltd in respect of Fire and Rescue Services access to Airwave - Contract value for the four year extension period: PS141,181,120 3. Secretary of State for Health and Social Care and Airwave Solutions Ltd for the Ambulance Radio Programme - Contract value for the four year extension period: PS83,947,192 4. The Scottish Ambulance Service Board and Airwave Solutions Ltd in respect of Scottish Ambulance Service access to Airwave - Contract value for the four year extension period: PS 3,091,038 Airwave is CNI and, as such, it must remain in place to ensure continuity and security of emergency service communications until ESN is ready to replace it. Until ESN is brought into service, no alternative or substitute network to Airwave exists nor would it be technically or financially feasible to develop a replacement for the emergency services to use in the meantime. Without Airwave, the emergency services would have no suitable communications network to use. This poses a danger to life for individuals as well as a risk to public safety and/or public security if communications between fire, policy or ambulance personnel broke down or became unreliable. Nb: Continued in additional information section due to character restrictions.

Publication & Lifecycle

Open Contracting ID
ocds-h6vhtk-030d0f
Publication Source
Find A Tender Service
Latest Notice
https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/001654-2022
Current Stage
Award
All Stages
Award

Procurement Classification

Notice Type
Award Notice
Procurement Type
Standard
Procurement Category
Services
Procurement Method
Limited
Procurement Method Details
Award procedure without prior publication of a call for competition
Tender Suitability
Not specified
Awardee Scale
Large

Common Procurement Vocabulary (CPV)

CPV Divisions

32 - Radio, television, communication, telecommunication and related equipment

64 - Postal and telecommunications services


CPV Codes

32412000 - Communications network

64200000 - Telecommunications services

Notice Value(s)

Tender Value
Not specified
Lots Value
Not specified
Awards Value
Not specified
Contracts Value
£1,561,919,689 £1B-£10B

Notice Dates

Publication Date
19 Jan 20224 years ago
Submission Deadline
Not specified
Future Notice Date
Not specified
Award Date
20 Dec 20214 years ago
Contract Period
Not specified - Not specified
Recurrence
Not specified

Notice Status

Tender Status
Complete
Lots Status
Cancelled
Awards Status
Active
Contracts Status
Active

Contracting Authority (Buyer)

Main Buyer
SECRETARY OF STATE FOR THE HOME DEPARTMENT - HOME OFFICE (POLICE)
Additional Buyers

SCOTTISH AMBULANCE SERVICE BOARD

SECRETARY OF STATE FOR THE DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND SOCIAL CARE - DHSC

SECRETARY OF STATE FOR THE HOME DEPARTMENT - HOME OFFICE (FIRE AND RESCUE SERVICES)

Contact Name
Airwave Commercial Team, Ambulance Radio Programme Commercial Team, Scottish Ambulance Service Procurement Team
Contact Email
commercial@arp.nhs.uk, esmcpsupplier@homeoffice.gov.uk, sas.sasprocurement@nhs.scot
Contact Phone
Not specified

Buyer Location

Locality
LONDON
Postcode
SW1P 4DF
Post Town
South West London
Country
England

Major Region (ITL 1)
TLI London
Basic Region (ITL 2)
TLI3 Inner London - West
Small Region (ITL 3)
TLI35 Westminster and City of London
Delivery Location
Not specified

Local Authority
Westminster
Electoral Ward
St James's
Westminster Constituency
Cities of London and Westminster

Supplier Information

Number of Suppliers
1
Supplier Name

AIRWAVE SOLUTIONS

Open Contracting Data Standard (OCDS)

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