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London Underground Radio Contract

Transport for London

This public procurement record has 6 releases in its history.

Award

09 Feb 2026 at 11:59

UK7 - Contract Details Notice
Award

29 Jan 2026 at 09:01

UK7 - Contract Details Notice
Award

11 Dec 2025 at 13:31

UK6 - Contract Award Notice
Award

21 Oct 2025 at 09:39

UK5 - Transparency Notice
PlanningUpdate

24 Sep 2025 at 09:36

UK1 - Pipeline Notice
Planning

21 May 2025 at 18:26

UK1 - Pipeline Notice
Summary of the contracting process

Transport for London has awarded the London Underground Radio Contract to Motorola Solutions UK Limited for the provision of essential hardware and software services related to the London Underground digital radio system. This contract, identified as ICT15052, falls under the category of postal and telecommunications services. Though substantive services are set to commence in November 2029, the contract was signed on 23 December 2025, with a period lasting until December 2035 and possibilities for extension until November 2040. The direct award stems from Motorola's exclusive intellectual property rights over the required technology, ensuring continuity and security for the Network and Telecommunications Procurement Project. This procurement process involves the complete lifecycle from planning to awarding the contract and aligns with the legal provisions of the UK Procurement Act 2023.

This procurement contract represents significant opportunities for businesses involved in the telecommunications sector, especially those capable of providing related support services or working in partnership with existing vendors like Motorola Solutions UK Limited. Companies specialising in upgrades and enhancements to TETRA and Dimetra systems, and those familiar with large-scale public transport communication infrastructures, stand to benefit. This collaboration aims to maintain a stable and secure radio communication system across London's transportation network, offering potential business growth within a competitive and secure framework. Businesses that can innovate within technical constraints and contribute to long-term technological transitions in the transport sector would be particularly well-suited to this environment.

How relevant is this notice?

Notice Information

Notice Title

London Underground Radio Contract

Notice Description

**Note: This is a duplicate UK7 Notice which was published on the 29 January 2026, 9:01am. This notice includes the redacted contract as the only change.** London Underground Limited (LUL) (a subsidiary of Transport for London (TfL)) awarded a contract (London Underground Radio Contract) to Motorola Solutions UK Limited (Motorola) for the provision of essential hardware and software services in respect of the London Underground digital radio system (LU Radio System). Substantive service provision under the London Underground Radio Contract will not commence until November 2029. However, LUL requires the London Underground Radio Contract to be entered into in advance of the launch of TfL's Networks and Telecommunications Procurement Project (NTPP) in order to provide continuity and security of service and to support a level playing field for NTPP. NTPP will potentially be based around a three-lot procurement, comprising: * Lot 1: Connectivity Services; * Lot 2: LU Operational Radio; and * Lot 3: Commoditised Connectivity Services. (5) LU Operational Radio Contract A significant proportion of the requirement for the LU Operational Radio contract (Lot 2) is overlaid on the LU Radio System, meaning that this requirement needs to be supported by Motorola through the provision of essential hardware and software support services and updates for its Dimetra product within the LU Radio System. To facilitate a fair, transparent and non-discriminatory competition for the NTPP LU Operational Radio contract, TfL has therefore entered into the London Underground Radio Contract to secure the provision of critical support services for the LU Radio System beyond the expiry of the current LU Connect contract in November 2029 and to enable the NTPP Lot 2 bidders to prepare their bids based on the same underlying radio system support arrangement. TfL considers this approach to be the best way of maximising competitive tension for the NTPP Lot 2 procurement and ensuring a level playing field for all bidders. The London Underground Radio Contract will be made available to the Lot 2 bidders during the procurement for this purpose. The London Underground Radio Contract may then be novated to the successful Lot 2 bidder (at which point it will become a sub-contract to the 'prime' contract between the successful Lot 2 bidder and TfL), or the successful Lot 2 bidder may be appointed by TfL to act as TfL's managing agent. Further details were set out in the London Underground Radio Contract Transparency Notice (Procurement identifier (OCID): ocds-h6vhtk-051c34 ).

Procurement Information

The London Underground Radio Contract is a direct award under section 41 and Schedule 5 Procurement Act 2023. This is on the basis that only Motorola can supply the services required due to the following conditions being met: Schedule 5, Paragraph 5 (a) due to a particular supplier having intellectual property rights or other exclusive rights, only that supplier can supply the goods, services or works required; and (b) there are no reasonable alternatives to those goods, services or works. Schedule 5, Paragraph 6 (a) due to an absence of competition for technical reasons, only a particular supplier can supply the goods, services or works required; and (b) there are no reasonable alternatives to those goods, services or works. (2) Direct Award - Justifications (i) Intellectual Property/Technical Reasons The TETRA radio system used in the Connect System is supplied by Motorola using its proprietary Dimetra product and is critical to the operation of the LU railway. Without a fully supported radio system it would not be possible to ensure the safe, secure, and reliable operation of the LU railway. As owner of the intellectual property rights in the Dimetra product, only Motorola can provide the necessary OEM-level maintenance support and software upgrades of the Dimetra product in order to ensure continuity and safe operational service from the LU Radio System. (ii) No Reasonable Alternatives TfL has carried out a detailed review of alternatives to using a TETRA-based system, including FRMCS (5G) and MCX over MNO (4G/5G). That review has concluded that (1) the currently available alternative radio technologies are not suitable replacements to TETRA-based technology, (2) a suitable replacement technology to TETRA and TETRA-based systems such as Dimetra is at least a decade away, (3) it is not feasible to replace Motorola's Dimetra system with an alternative TETRA-based system, and (4) once available, migration away from Dimetra/TETRA based systems to an alternative would take several years to complete, during which LU must retain full use of Dimetra to maintain safe and reliable operations. There are no drop-in replacements for the current Dimetra-based radio system. Each LU train is equipped with a bespoke Dimetra train radio unit, designed to meet specific requirements including electrical compatibility, integration with LU's power supply voltages, physical constraints, and data and control interface requirements. The LU Radio System also uses a bespoke dispatcher sub-system that is tailored to provide the essential user interface for LU radio dispatchers, and any future replacement radio system would also require such customisations which, due to their safety criticality, will require extensive development and testing. When one is available, the effort, risk and cost of migrating to an alternative technology would be substantial, both in terms of capital expenditure and operational risk. It would also take several years to complete, during which LU must retain full use of Dimetra to maintain safe and reliable operations. This reinforces the need for continued investment in Dimetra and long-term support from Motorola. Additionally, compliance with the Security of Network & Information Systems Regulations (NIS Regulations) requires that the LU radio system receive vendor support such as cyber security vulnerability updates and, whilst the system remains on Dimetra, that Motorola support is critical. Therefore, TfL considers that it can directly award the London Underground Radio Contract under paragraph 5 (and/or under paragraph 6) of Schedule 5 of the Procurement Act 2023 on the basis that due to its intellectual property rights in the Dimetra product and/or because of technical reasons related to the nature of the Dimetra product, only Motorola can provide and deliver the necessary services and works required to support the LU Radio System and there are no reasonable alternatives to the Dimetra product or the works and services required to support that product.

Notice Details

Publication & Lifecycle

Open Contracting ID
ocds-h6vhtk-051c34
Publication Source
Find A Tender Service
Latest Notice
https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/011322-2026
Current Stage
Award
All Stages
Planning, Award

Procurement Classification

Notice Type
UK7 - Contract Details Notice
Procurement Type
Standard
Procurement Category
Services
Procurement Method
Direct
Procurement Method Details
Direct award
Tender Suitability
Not specified
Awardee Scale
Large

Common Procurement Vocabulary (CPV)

CPV Divisions

64 - Postal and telecommunications services

CPV Codes

64000000 - Postal and telecommunications services

Notice Value(s)

Tender Value
Not specified
Lots Value
Not specified
Awards Value
£147,935,197 £100M-£1B
Contracts Value
£147,935,197 £100M-£1B

Notice Dates

Publication Date
9 Feb 20266 months ago
Submission Deadline
Not specified
Future Notice Date
6 Nov 2025Expired
Award Date
21 Oct 202510 months ago
Contract Period
21 Nov 2029 - 31 Dec 2035 Over 5 years
Recurrence
Not specified

Notice Status

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

Buyer & Supplier

Contracting Authority (Buyer)

Main Buyer
Transport for London
Contact Name
Available with D3 Tenders Premium →
Contact Email
Available with D3 Tenders Premium →
Contact Phone
Available with D3 Tenders Premium →

Buyer Location

Locality
LONDON
Postcode
E20 1JN
Postcode Area
East London
Country
England
Major Region (ITL 1)
TLI London
Basic Region (ITL 2)
TLI4 Inner London - East
Small Region (ITL 3)
TLI41 Hackney and Newham
Delivery Location
Not specified
Local Authority
Newham
Electoral Ward
Stratford Olympic Park
Westminster Constituency
Stratford and Bow

Supplier Information

Number of Suppliers
1
Supplier Name

MOTOROLA SOLUTIONS UK LIMITED

Further Information

Notice Documents

Open Contracting Data Standard (OCDS)

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The Open Contracting Data Standard (OCDS) is a framework designed to increase transparency and access to public procurement data in the public sector. It is widely used by governments and organisations worldwide to report on procurement processes and contracts.

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