ESMCP - Mobile Services Agreement for the Emergency Services Network

This Award Notice is for the provision of the Mobile Services network and related services for the Home Office to support the development and implementation of the new Emergency Services Network (ESN). ESN will replace the expensive, ageing and outdated Airwave system and provide critical communications for the emergency services.

The new Mobile Services Agreement (MSA) has been awarded jointly to EE Ltd and BT Plc in the form of a tripartite agreement. The award of the contract was previously announced at pre-contract stage via a Voluntary ex ante transparency (VEAT) notice published on the Find a Tender service website on 31 July 2024 (FTS/024046-2024).

The Mobile Services contract is for a term of 7.25 years plus one extension year, as well as a termination assistance period, for a maximum value of £1.85bn. The Mobile Services contract will provide mobile network coverage for emergency services mission critical communications. This contract subsumes and replaces the previous contract for mobile network services with EE which was expiring and required updating.

The main services to be provided by the MS Suppliers shall include the services specified in the Original Lot 3 Agreement with certain modifications which are designed to optimise the delivery and performance of the ESN, based on experience gained during the Original Lot 3 Agreement, as set out in the afore-mentioned VEAT.

The Authority has entered into the Mobile Services Agreement with the MS Suppliers on the basis that regulation 32(2)(b)(ii) of the Public Contracts Regulations 2015 applies, i.e. that only the MS Suppliers can provide the services required because competition is absent for technical reasons. The Authority considers that no reasonable alternative or substitute exists, and the absence of competition is not the result of an artificial narrowing down of the parameters of the procurement. The reasons that the Authority considers the use of regulation 32(2)(b)(ii) applies are detailed in the ESN Mobile Services Agreement Voluntary ex ante transparency (VEAT) notice published on the Find a Tender service website on 31 July 2024 (FTS/024046-2024).