Contract Modification of the Radio Network Infrastructure Replacement Reference number: RM6109 for additional services to include Radio Hardware Managed Services

The MCA originally awarded a contract to telent Technology Services for the following provision; HM Coastguard were required to monitor VHF and MF Radio transmissions from vessels at sea and provide assistance in case of emergency to prevent loss of life within the UK’s jurisdiction. In order to do this, the current network consists of 155 remote radio sites (RRS), situated around 11 000 miles of UK coastline. This network facilitates all communication transmissions to and from vessels at sea and to the HM Coastguard Watch Officers based at our 10 coastguard operation centres around the UK and the Joint Rescue and Coordination Centre in Fareham via two data centres. The existing network that links these remote radio sites to the HMCG operations centres needed to be replaced; the reason is that the analogue Kilostream product that underpins the existing network has been withdrawn from the market in March 2020 by BT in line with a wider OFCOM deregulation of low bandwidth analogue point-to-point product types across the telecommunications industry. Further to the award of the above contract modification to this contract has been undertaken to include services to support the RNIR Programme and to manage the MCA’s Radio Hardware by way of; Reactive Maintenance – 24x7x365 managed maintenance service for remote radio site equipment including but not limited to repair of VHF, MF, HF, DSC and AIS radio base stations, feeder cables, antenna, microwave dishes, direction finders, monitoring equipment, modems, change control, mast and tower rigging, poles, aircraft warning lights, access management, storage, radio coverage performance and certification; • Vessel Monitoring and Management System support to cover infrastructure components at Langdon Battery and Fairlight Down including X-Band transceivers, Directional Finders, MET Sensors and AIS units; • The Authority corporate, RNIR, remote radio switching estate and legacy server estate. Preventative Maintenance- Performance of regular preventative maintenance activities to assure the quality and performance of Coastguard Communications on MF, VHF, VTMS Platforms, CNIS equipment AIS and DSC. These maintenance activities and the specification to which equipment shall perform is to be devised in conjunction with the installation /engineering contractor. Project and technical support- Full end to end management including Supplier Management, Contract Management, Service reviews, Service improvement plans, Service Delivery Material, Tower Management and Enhanced Reporting. Spares Management and Storage Services – Spares and inventory management service including trend analysis, asset management, obsolescence management, independent analysis of stock holdings, advising on minimum and maximum stock holding levels,secure storage facilities, Airwave accredited transportations and storage and enhanced delivery for the Authority’s cloud connected hardware. Subcontracted Support Services – Hardware and Software Assurance and Upgrade UPS Support service - Hardware and Software Assurance and Upgrade Services including Solution Procurement Services