Official UK procurement notice
DfE Gigabit Infrastructure Subsidy – Regional Supplier Contract for Northern Ireland
Authority: Department for the Economy (Central government)
What is being bought
Published requirement descriptionThe UK Government has committed GBP5bn to enable hard-to-reach communities to access gigabit-capable broadband. This is being spent through a package of coordinated and mutually supportive interventions, collectively known as Project Gigabit. Project Gigabit, is a UK Government intervention to provide a subsidy to support the deployment of a gigabit speed broadband network to cover premises across Northern Ireland that would otherwise not be provided with access to gigabit broadband speeds, as these premises do not present a commercially viable investment for a private sector operator. Project Gigabit is a strategically important initiative for Northern Ireland’s society (people and businesses), is a key enabler for delivering the DfE Minister’s Economic Vision, and will help to maintain Northern Ireland’s connectivity and infrastructure at a level that is competitive with Great Britain and the Republic of Ireland and is attractive to inward investment. As part of this DfE, along with Building Digital UK (BDUK), is developing a procurement approach to incentivise the telecoms market to invest in delivering gigabit capable wholesale infrastructure in areas not considered to be commercially viable for new infrastructure. This procurement approach will be a successor to the much-needed Superfast broadband programme and DfE’s broadband intervention, Project Stratum. The overarching aim of Project Gigabit is, simply stated, to provide universal, or near universal, gigabit-capable broadband coverage in Northern Ireland by increasing provision in areas which are currently poorly served and not capable of attracting wholly commercial investment. The project aim can be categorised into three key objectives:
- Address market failure, whilst maintaining and promoting competition within the market. It is currently not commercially viable for telecoms service providers to extend gigabit-capable broadband infrastructure to many of the presently unserved premises in Northern Ireland.
- Maximise gigabit-capable broadband coverage in a way that is balanced and supportive of rural areas and communities.
- Choose procurement and delivery options which seek to maximise value for money (in terms of a balance of quality of technology/products, coverage, timescale and cost to Government), mitigate risk, incentivise performance and meet affordability criteria for Government and for end users.
CPV: Ancillary works for telecommunications · Communications cable · Communications cable with coaxial conductors · Communications equipment · Communications infrastructure · Communications system maintenance services · Construction and ancillary works for telephone and communication lines · Construction work for communication lines · Electricity distribution and related services · Information systems or technology strategic review and planning services · Installation of cable infrastructure · Installation of cable laying · +30 more
The lotProcurement structure
single lot · value publishedWhat it takes to wini
How this buyer will score bids.
The evaluation criteria and weights exactly as published on the notice, grouped by family (price, quality, social value and so on).
Evaluation split and conditions of participation as published; the tender pack may add morei
How this buyer will score bids.
The evaluation criteria and weights exactly as published on the notice, grouped by family (price, quality, social value and so on).
Published sub-criteria (2)
- Quality: 65%
- Commercial: 35%
Published award criteria (2)
- Quality: 65
- Commercial: 35
- Suitability
Candidates will be assessed in accordance with Regulation 58 of the Public Contract Regulations 2015. A selection process will also be used to identify economic operators, who having submitted a response to the Selection Questionnaire, sufficiently demonstrate to the Authority's satisfaction the appropriate technical and professional ability, economic, financial and legal standing to meet the requirements of the contract.
- Price carries 35 of 100 points: a 10% discount moves about 3.5 points. The method statement decides this lot, not the discount.
Price arithmetic assumes straight proportional scoring; the tender pack may use another formula.
Procedure terms & legal framework
From the official record · publisher note attached- Procedure method
- Restricted procedure
- Legal basis
- CELEX · 32014L0024 Public Contracts Regulations 2015 (Directive 2014/24/EU)
- Procurement category
- Services
- Notice status
- Awarded
- Procurement threshold
- Unspecified in notice
- Regulatory regime
- Standard
- Commercial structure
- Stand-alone contract (no framework)
- Competition type
- Competitive procedure
- GPA / WTO covered
- Yes (GPA)
- Recurring procurement
- No (one-off requirement)
- First published
- 11 Nov 2024, 13:43 GMT
- Last source update
- 23 Dec 2025, 09:01 GMT
- Authority reference
4303295- FTS notice number
2025/S 000-085636- Classification (CPV)
- Delivery area
- Official registry OCID
ocds-h6vhtk-04b578Find a Tender
- Performance terms
The appointment to the contract will be subject to the preferred Supplier demonstrating that the minimum requirements specified in the selection questionnaire continue to be met and that there being no material adverse change to the standing of the supplier. The appointment will also be subject to all other necessary due diligence being carried out by the Authority. Contract performance will be subject to the conditions specified in the contract and the successful Supplier’s performance on the contract will be regularly monitored.
- Review procedure
CPD will comply with the Public Contracts Regulations 2015 and, where appropriate, will incorporate a standstill period (i.e. a minimum of 10 calendar days) at the point information on the award of contract is communicated to tenderers. That notification will provide full information on the award decision. This provides time for the unsuccessful tenderers to challenge the award decision before the contract is entered into.
Publisher note: The estimated contract value indicated in Section II.1.7 and V.2.4 represents the potential maximum value of the contract over the. maximum contract period which ranges from £34,646,984 Million GBP (Initial Scope) to £81 Million GBP exclusive of VAT. Note this is an. estimated range only and the Department reserves the right to award for a lower or higher amount. This range reflects the potential.. scale of the contract and takes into account changes and potential modifications to the contract that may be required that could not be. identified or foreseen at the time of this procurement exercise but which are consistent with the overall nature of the Authority’s’ current. and future operational requirements for a gigabit speed broadband network. It is envisaged that such modifications would be made. without requiring a new procurement procedure in accordance with Regulation 72 of the Public Contracts Regulations 2015. Neither CPD. nor the Authority can provide any guarantee as to the level of business under this contract. The Authority does not bind itself to accept. the lowest or any tender. Suppliers remain responsible for all costs and expenses incurred by them or by any third party acting under. instructions from the Supplier in connection with taking part in this procurement process regardless of whether such costs arise as a. consequence, directly or indirectly of any amendments made to the procurement documents by the Authority at any time. No legally. binding contract shall arise (and a Supplier shall have no legitimate expectation that a contract will be entered into) until such time as. entry into the Contract has been confirmed by the Authority. Suppliers should note that all dates, time periods and figures in relation to. values and volumes specified in this notice and the procurement documents are approximate only and the Authority reserves the right to. change any or all of them
How it was run
Official notice- Submission deadline
- 16 Dec 2024, 15:00 GMT
- Submission channel
- {"electronicSubmission"}
- Accepted languages
- en
Timeline
16 Dec 2024 → 23 Dec 2025 · 3 dates- Submission deadline16 Dec 2024, 15:00 GMT
- Bids must remain valid until16 Mar 2025, 23:59 GMT
- Notice published304 days ago23 Dec 2025, 09:01 GMT
Notice history
1 event · 2 releases on Find a Tender- Status changed to complete23 Dec 2025, 09:01 GMT
Commercial outcome & contract awards
Published awards, contracts and bid statistics, not a forecast| Awarded to | Value | Date | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| FIBRUS LTDSME | £81,000,000 † | — | Awarded |
Contracts
DfE Gigabit Infrastructure Subsidy – Regional Supplier Contract for Northern Ireland · FIBRUS LTDSME
- Signed
- 16 Dec 2025
- Value
- £81,000,000
- Status
- active
Bid statistics published by the authority
| Bids | SME | VCSE | Valid bid range |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1bids · 1 electronic · 1 from abroad | 1 | — | — |
Contracting authority & participating public bodies
Dispute resolution & review bodies
- The UK does not have any such bodies with responsibility for appeal/mediation procedures. Instead; any challenges are dealt with by the High Court, Commercial Division, to which proceedings may be issued regarding alleged breaches of the PCR 2015 as amended.Review body
Bidders & participating suppliers
1 commercial party on the notice- FIBRUS LTDAwarded supplier
Official documents & specifications
Official links; attachments are not copiedNo document links were published on the notice.