Further Education Network Connectivity and Cyber Security Services (FENCCSS)

Jisc operates the Janet Network which is the UK’s sole NREN linking up to GÉANT, the pan-European data network for the research and education community. The tertiary education sector including Further Education (FE) relies on the Janet Network for IT connectivity and cyber security (CS). Jisc also hosts and operates the .ac.uk domain used by all UK tertiary education establishments, providing additional CS capability.

Underpinning the Janet Network and therefore curriculum delivery and BAU operations of all FE colleges is the provision of appropriate CS. Combating the more serious cyber attacks (i.e. ransomware) requires the use of threat intelligence to identify, anticipate and mitigate attacks. In turn this requires a critical mass of network data to analyse. The Janet Network is a private network solely for tertiary education users and is therefore able to collect detailed data on network traffic and potential threats specific to the tertiary education sector. Only the Janet Network has access to the volume and quality of data needed to combat serious cyber attacks and the DfE Chief Information Security Officer has assessed that no other provider can offer the level of cyber security as appropriate for the sector.

It is proposed to award the contract directly to Jisc that is not an excluded supplier because a direct award justification applies in accordance with section 41(1)(a) of the Procurement Act 2023. DfE is relying on the single supplier direct award justifications in paragraphs 6 and 5 of schedule 5 of the Procurement Act 2023:

• paragraph 6 (a) due to an absence of competition for technical reasons, only a particular supplier can supply the goods, services or works required, and (b) there are no reasonable alternatives to those goods, services or works ; and
• paragraph 5 (a) due to a particular supplier having intellectual property rights or other exclusive rights, only that supplier can supply the goods, services or works required, and (b) there are no reasonable alternatives to those goods, services or works.

The explanations for why the justifications apply are as follows.

Absence of competition for technical reasons - paragraph 6

This justification applies because all FE colleges obtain their connectivity from the Janet Network. Their use of the Janet Network also provides the data on which the CS services specifically tailored to FE institution are based. It is therefore not possible to separate the IT connectivity services from the CS services and both services need to be provided via the Janet Network, which is specifically configured to provide both connectivity services and specifically tailored CS services to FE institutions. No other internet service provider is able to provide the combination of IT connectivity services and bespoke CS services which are the direct result of the Janet Network being the UK’s sole NREN.

No reasonable alternative.

In the absence of another NREN, the only potential alternative would be for another supplier to develop a replacement solution to the requirements for FE institutions which would require building a NREN from scratch with the features of being a private network for the tertiary education sector to provide the required IT connectivity services and specifically tailored CS. A replacement NREN would also be required to meet the stringent requirements of GÉANT to continue being able to connect to it . In addition to creating such a replacement NREN which would create significant upfront costs, sufficient time for testing and mobilisation of that replacement NREN would also be required. There is not sufficient funding and time for any alternative supplier to design, build, test, and deploy an alternative solution to ensure the continuation of IT connectivity and CS services delivered via a NREN required for FE institutions to continue to provide education services to their students.

Therefore, there are no reasonable alternatives.

The second justification is intellectual property rights - paragraph 5

This justification applies because Jisc owns the intellectual property rights to the Janet Network, therefore only Jisc is able to provide the proposed services via the Janet Network. The same justifications regarding limb (a) of paragraph 6 of Schedule 5 of the PA also apply for limb (a) of paragraph 5 of Schedule 5 of the PA.

No reasonable alternatives.

The same justifications, stated above, for why there are no reasonable alternatives for paragraph 6 absence of competition for technical reasons, apply to the justification for paragraph 5. Therefore, there are no reasonable alternatives.