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National Timing Centre (NTC) Delivery Programme 2

Department for Science, Innovation & Technology

This public procurement record has 4 releases in its history.

Award

15 Sep 2026 at 11:50

UK7 - Contract Details Notice
Award

16 Jul 2026 at 13:26

UK6 - Contract Award Notice
Award

14 Jul 2026 at 12:46

UK5 - Transparency Notice
Planning

09 Jul 2026 at 15:40

UK1 - Pipeline Notice
Summary of the contracting process

The Department for Science, Innovation & Technology is procuring the National Timing Centre Delivery Programme 2. The programme will build and operate a resilient, terrestrial, sovereign and sustainable national timing centre providing a high-quality timing signal. The requirement covers communications infrastructure and related research and development services for security and defence materials. Delivery is across the United Kingdom. This is a central-government requirement for a supplier able to provide and operate nationally significant timing infrastructure, maintain a reliable reference service and support the associated technical and research activities. The work combines infrastructure supply with long-term operational capability rather than a standalone equipment purchase.

The procurement has been completed and awarded through a direct award to National Physical Laboratory on the basis that it is the sole supplier for technical reasons, with no reasonable alternative. The award date was 6 July 2026, the contract was signed on 9 August 2026 and the active contract runs from 10 August 2026 to 31 March 2030. The awarded value is £180 million excluding VAT, or £216 million including VAT. The contract covers one lot. Evaluation was not competitive: the Department relied on the Procurement Act 2023 technical-reasons provisions for a single-supplier award. The contract includes performance measures for new roles created and filled, NTP clock-offset accuracy against UTC (NPL), and availability and resilience of synchronisation to UTC (NPL).

This award demonstrates substantial public-sector demand for sovereign timing infrastructure and dependable national synchronisation services. Competitors seeking comparable work would need strong capability in communications infrastructure, precision timing, network time protocol operations and research relating to security and defence materials. They would also need to demonstrate that their systems can maintain clock-offset accuracy against a recognised UTC reference and provide resilient, continuously available synchronisation. Credibility would depend on the capacity to build and operate critical national infrastructure, sustain performance over several years and support measurable service outcomes. Relevant suppliers are likely to include organisations with advanced metrology, secure communications, timing-system engineering, critical-infrastructure operations and public-sector programme delivery experience.

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Notice Information

Notice Title

National Timing Centre (NTC) Delivery Programme 2

Notice Description

National Timing Centre (NTC) Delivery Programme 2. The programme will build and operate an NTC to provide a resilient, terrestrial, sovereign, sustainable, and high-quality Timing Signal.

Procurement Information

Single supplier - technical reasons Direct Award is made on the basis that NPL are the sole provider for technical reasons under Schedule 5, paragraph 6 of the Procurement Act 2023 - The following conditions are met in relation to the public contract - (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.

Notice Details

Publication & Lifecycle

Open Contracting ID
ocds-h6vhtk-06c7d3
Publication Source
Find A Tender Service
Latest Notice
https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/087231-2026
Current Stage
Award
All Stages
Planning, Award

Procurement Classification

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

Common Procurement Vocabulary (CPV)

CPV Divisions

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

73 - Research and development services and related consultancy services

CPV Codes

32571000 - Communications infrastructure

73400000 - Research and Development services on security and defence materials

Notice Value(s)

Tender Value
£180,000,000 £100M-£1B
Lots Value
Not specified
Awards Value
£180,000,000 £100M-£1B
Contracts Value
£180,000,000 £100M-£1B

Notice Dates

Publication Date
15 Sep 2026Yesterday
Submission Deadline
Not specified
Future Notice Date
13 Jul 2026Expired
Award Date
6 Jul 20262 months ago
Contract Period
10 Aug 2026 - 31 Mar 2030 3-4 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
Department for Science, Innovation & Technology
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
SW1A 2EG
Postcode Area
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

National Physical Laboratory

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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