---
title: "Defra - Future Network Procurement Project"
ocid: "ocds-h6vhtk-03d590"
canonical_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/?ocid=ocds-h6vhtk-03d590"
markdown_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-03d590.md"
json_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-03d590.json"
source: "Find A Tender Service"
current_stage: "Planning"
buyer: "DEFRA NETWORK ETENDERING PORTAL"
published: "2023-06-12"
---

# Defra - Future Network Procurement Project

Buyer: DEFRA NETWORK ETENDERING PORTAL  
Current stage: Planning  
OCID: ocds-h6vhtk-03d590

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## Summary

The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) is planning the Future Network Procurement Project (FNPP) for enhanced connectivity services. The procurement will be carried out via Crown Commercial Service's Network Services 3 Framework. The tender is expected to be published on Monday 17 July 2023. The project aims to transform and manage Defra's complete connectivity infrastructure, involving WAN, LAN, foundation services, secure gateway, and digital experience monitoring. It will connect approximately 300 sites in the UK, serving up to 32,000 staff across multiple government agencies. The procurement includes a 14-month transition period, followed by a 5-year business as usual phase and a potential 2-year extension, with an optional 18-month Termination Assistance Period.

This tender for IT services presents an opportunity for businesses specializing in network management, IT consulting, and software development to compete for the contract. Companies experienced in delivering large-scale connectivity projects with a focus on sustainability and environmental impact reduction would be well-suited to participate in this procurement. The FNPP aims to create long-term benefits for Defra and its partner agencies by modernizing their network infrastructure, enhancing security measures, and improving digital experiences for staff and users. Interested bidders can register through the Defra Network eTendering Portal and should align with Defra's sustainability objectives and targets throughout the service provision.

## Notice

This is a Prior Information Notice (PIN) for the Future Network Procurement Project (FNPP), which is for the provision of the enhanced continuation of Defra's connectivity services. The Invitation to Tender (ITT) will be via Crown Commercial Service's (CCS's) Network Services 3 (Lot 1a and Lot 2a), and is expected to be published on Monday 17 July.

The FNPP supplier shall transform and manage Defra's Connectivity as a whole, including but not limited to WAN (SD-WAN and DIA), LAN (LAN and WLAN), Foundation Services (DNS, DHCP, IPAM, and NTP), Gateway proxy services and secure VPN licences & support and Digital Experience Monitoring.

Further information is detailed within the 'Description of Procurement' section.

### Lot Information

Lot 1

This is a Prior Information Notice (PIN) for the Future Network Procurement Project (FNPP), which is for the provision of the enhanced continuation of Defra's connectivity services. The Invitation to Tender (ITT) will be via Crown Commercial Service's (CCS's) Network Services 3 (NS3) Framework (Lot 1a and Lot 2a), which is expected to be published on Monday 17 July.

Atamis will be used during the procurement for all communications, ITT documentation access, and Bidder Tender response document uploads. The link for Bidders to register to Atamis is below:
https://defra-family.force.com/s/Welcome

Clinked will be used as a Data Room for Defra-wide documents that are referred to in the ITT and Bidders need to view (policies, strategies etc). Bidders can only access Clinked via invite, so if you are an interested Bidder on both NS3's Lot 1a and Lot 2a, then please contact the below email address with your organisation's representative email address: 
Alexander.Ede@Defra.gov.uk

The FNPP supplier shall transform and manage Defra's Connectivity as a whole. FNPP moves from traditional MPLS to SD-WAN and Dedicated Internet Access (DIA), and moves from traditional fully-wired LAN to Wi-Fi by default. Its scope includes:
- Wide Area Network (WAN): SD-WAN, DIA, and Internet 
- Local Area Network (LAN): To support Wi-Fi, with traditional-wired LAN where Wi-Fi is not possible
- Foundation Services: IP Address Management, Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol, Private Domain Name Service, and Network Time Protocol.
- Remote Access Service (RAS): Hardware and software capabilities to remotely connect the user to Defra's servers.
- Secure Gateway: Cloud Internet Proxy and Virtual Private Network (VPN) capabilities and support for Secure Internet Access & Web Content Filtering for end user devices providing access to the internet.
- Digital Experience Monitoring: A solution for reporting on real-life performance of the network, generating synthetic transactions for an end-to-end view
- Security Operations Centre (SOC): Detecting and responding to cyber-attacks through Protective Monitoring. This will either be part of FNPP's scope or brought in-house to Defra.

This FNPP service will connect circa 300 sites across the United Kingdom for up to 32,000 staff, consisting of Defra and its Agencies and Non-Departmental Public Bodies (NDPBs):
- Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra)
- Environment Agency (EA)
- Rural Payments Agency (RPA)
- Natural England (NE)
- Marine Management Organisation (MMO)
- Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA)

FNPP will consist of a circa 14-month transition period, 5-year business as usual (BAU), and a 2-year optional extension. It will also include an optional 18-month Termination Assistance Period (TAP).

The Supplier must provide a service which recognises the Defra Group priority to minimise environmental and social impacts, whilst delivering additional benefits, by upholding Defra Groups published sustainability objectives and targets.

## Key Details

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Publication source | Find A Tender Service |
| Latest notice | https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/016613-2023 |
| Notice type | Planning Notice |
| Procurement type | Standard |
| Procurement category | Services |
| Procurement method | Not Specified |
| Procurement method details | Not specified |
| Tender suitability | Not specified |
| Awardee scale | Not specified |
| All stages | Planning |

## Dates

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Publication date | 12 Jun 2023 |
| Submission deadline | Not specified |
| Future notice date | 16 Jul 2023 |
| Award date | Not specified |
| Contract period | Not specified |
| Recurrence | Not specified |

## Values

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Tender value | Not specified |
| Lots value | Not specified |
| Awards value | Not specified |
| Contracts value | Not specified |

## Status

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Tender status | Planned |
| Lots status | Planned |
| Awards status | Not specified |
| Contracts status | Not specified |

## Buyer

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Main buyer | DEFRA NETWORK ETENDERING PORTAL |
| Locality | LONDON |
| Post town | South West London |
| Postcode | SW1P 3JR |
| Country | England |
| ITL 1 | TLI London |
| ITL 2 | TLI3 Inner London - West |
| ITL 3 | TLI35 Westminster and City of London |
| Local authority | Westminster |
| Electoral ward | St James's |
| Westminster constituency | Cities of London and Westminster |
| Delivery location | Not specified |

## CPV Codes

### Divisions

- 72 - IT services: consulting, software development, Internet and support

### Codes

- 72000000 - IT services: consulting, software development, Internet and support

## Release History

- 12 Jun 2023 at 14:50 - Planning - Planning Notice - https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/016613-2023

## Notice URLs

- https://defra-family.force.com/s/Welcome
- https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/department-for-environment-food-rural-affairs

## Provenance

This Markdown file is an alternate public rendering of the D3 Tenders contract record. The canonical page is https://d3tenders.com/contract/?ocid=ocds-h6vhtk-03d590. The underlying structured data is available as OCDS JSON at https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-03d590.json.