Public procurement notice: Prior Information Notice Without Call For Competition
Published: 2016-06-14
Buyer: Ministry of Justice
Country: UK
Region: UNITED KINGDOM
Contract type: Services
CPV classification: 32000000 | 32300000 | 32344000 | 32344100 | 32344200
Estimated value: 500000 GBP

Technical requirements: Break-fix Maintenance and Service Support for HM Prison's UHF Tetra Radio Systems and Associated Equipment.
A fully managed break-fix maintenance and service support contract is required for the UHF Tetra radio systems and all associated equipment (including radio terminals) deployed in 118 public and private prisons managed by the National Offender Management Service (NOMS) throughout England and Wales. The safety and security of staff and prisoners is critical and the maintenance of an effective communication system is a key component of the NOMS' security strategy. Any failure of the radio system presents a significant threat to the operational stability, safety and security of prisons. Accepting that the equipment is subject to failure and wear and tear issues, it is essential that the maintenance of the radio system is prioritised and that any serious failures are resolved rapidly. The main radio communication system encompasses c122 Rohill Tetranode base stations with SafteyNet Digital software and c18000 Hytera PT580H Tetra radio terminals. For a majority of radio terminals no connections are made to external Tetra users, each prison or cluster of prisons uses the devices as a closed-user group; this could be varied in the lifetime of the contract.
Due to the business criticality of the service, some resilience has been implemented in the technical design and the current and expected service support model is:
— 4 hour response and restoration of service where there is a significant loss of communication affecting all users on-site;
— 8 hour response and restoration of service where there is some disruption to radio communication affecting a number of users;
Remote access to the prison sites is currently not available with each prison operating a local network and various inter-site connectivity options are in place.
A small portion of the radio communication system uses Tetra airtime using Sepura radio terminals, vehicle terminals and fixed mobiles.
It is expected that the new contract will include the requirement to replace some radio terminals and the associated system PCs during the contract term where it is identified that they are at the end of their usable life. It will also cover the decommissioning of equipment at some sites, the provision of this service at new sites and amendments/improvements to service coverage at existing sites.
The Authority wishes to engage with the marketplace to help support the definition of the requirements and generate market interest for the upcoming procurement, expected to be run in October 2016.
It is expected that interested suppliers will be prepared to work flexibly to understand the operational challenges associated with providing this service within a prison environment. For example by assuring the appropriate security clearance of staff working in prisons, safe disposal of contaminated equipment and the logistical context of a secure, gated site where operational imperatives and duty of care override all other considerations.
The Authority plans on holding a few pre-market engagement supplier days in London on Friday, 1.7.2016; Thursday, 21.7.2016 and Tuesday, 9.8.2016. Suppliers interested in attending this event should confirm their interest in attending at least 5 working days before the event. Please include ‘Tetra Market Event’ in the subject heading stating the name of the attendees and their role. Full details will be provided in response to the registration.
To register your interest please register on the Bravo Sourcing portal against Invitation to Tender (ITT) reference: ITT_367.
The Contracting Authority intends to use an eTendering system in this procurement exercise and reserves the right to use a reverse auction.
The Authority plans on holding a few pre-market engagement supplier days in London on Friday, 1.7.2016; Thursday, 21.7.2016 and Tuesday, 9.8.2016. Suppliers interested in attending this event should confirm their interest in attending at least 5 working days before the event. Please include ‘Tetra Market Event’ in the subject heading stating the name of the attendees and their role. Full details will be provided in response to the registration.
To register your interest please register on the Bravo Sourcing portal against Invitation to Tender (ITT) reference: ITT_367.