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Official procurement procedure
Management of the UK Telecommunications Laboratory
Research and Development services on security and defence materials
Research and development services and evaluation tests
Location not published
Published value
Not published
Submission deadline Not published
Lots published0
Procurement Executive Summary
AI & Search Synopsis
Generated from official OCDS record
Tenderline Synopsis: DESNZ & DSIT Group Commercial: "Management of the UK Telecommunications Laboratory". Published status: award. Published value: Value not published. Lot information not published. Submission deadline not published. See the official notice for participation instructions.
| Contracting Authority | DESNZ & DSIT Group Commercial | Scope & Categories | Not published | Submission Window | Recorded No deadline published |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Submission Gateway | Direct notice route | Legal Basis & Regime | Standard procurement | Estimated Value (exc. VAT) | Not published |
Bidder Intelligence · Authority Profile: DESNZ & DSIT Group Commercial
Market Analytics
Derived from OCDS awards & bid statistics
Published history for DESNZ & DSIT Group Commercial. These figures describe retained records, not a forecast of bids or a measure of buyer bias.
Published-to-award variance
Not availableInsufficient comparable data
Competition Density
1Bids / Report
Supplier ConcentrationNo estimate
Insufficient attributable awardsNo concentration estimate availablePayment Terms
Check noticePublished terms
Coverage: 1 active published awards; 1 bid reports (which may be per lot). Supplier values exclude multi-supplier awards, frameworks and DPS, and use GBP only. They are published award values, not payments. Published-to-award variance compares single-lot, single-award, single-supplier GBP procedures with explicitly non-framework/non-DPS status; increases remain in the average. Unpublished data stays unknown. Awarded suppliers are winners, not all bidders.
Procedure terms
Contracting AuthorityDESNZ & DSIT Group Commercial | Procedure methodNot published | Procurement categoryNot published |
StatusNot published | Framework / DPSNot published | CompetitionNot published |
Above thresholdNot published | Legal basisNot published | Tender period startsNot published |
Clarification deadlineNot published | Electronic submissionNot published | Submission languagesNot published |
Published16 May 2025, 14:30 BST | Last source update16 May 2025, 14:30 BST | Recurring procurementNot published |
ClassificationResearch and Development services on security and defence materials, Research and development services and evaluation tests | ||
Delivery areaLocation not published | ||
OCIDocds-h6vhtk-0515f6 | ||
What is being bought
The UK Telecommunications Laboratory (UKTL) serves as the national telecoms security and resilience testing and research facility of the United Kingdom. This helps maintain the security and resilience of the UK's communications networks. The contract is for provision of Deliverables and the supply of Services, for the operation of the UKTL Buildings as well as the designing and implementation of specialist activities and tasks.
What changed
From the official release history
- Official notice release published
16 May 2025, 14:30 BST - Buyer information updated
16 May 2025, 14:30 BST
Lots and requirements (0)
Published by the contracting authority
No lots are published for this procedure
Timeline
- Procedure published
16 May 2025, 14:30 BST - Award active
Not published · Not published - Contract active
Signed 1 Apr 2025, 00:00 BST · £18,380,000
Commercial outcome and competition
Awards NPL Management Limited Not published · Not published · active |
Contracts Contract £18,380,000 · signed 1 Apr 2025, 00:00 BST · active |
Bid statistics bids: 1 |
Buyer and organisations in this procedure
DESNZ & DSIT Group Commercial
Contracting authority GB-FTS-148243Documents (0)
Official links; attachments are not copied
No linked documents are published
Related procedures (0)
No related procedures published
Planning and rationale
Planning budgetNot published |
No-engagement rationaleNot published |
Procedure rationaleThe UK Telecommunications Laboratory (UKTL) serves as the national telecoms security and resilience testing and research facility of the United Kingdom. The UKTL aims to be recognised globally as a centre of excellence in telecom security, providing advanced test and evaluation capabilities to protect the country's essential national telecoms infrastructure. This helps maintain the security and resilience of the UK's communications networks.
The Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT) awarded a contract to National Physical Laboratory Management Limited for setting up and initially managing UKTL for 12 months, valued at £18.3 million (excluding VAT). This procurement follows the Defence and Security Public Contracts Regulations 2011.
Publishing a contract notice in the Official Journal of the European Union is no longer applicable. The contract was awarded without prior publication of a notice on the UK e-notification service, adhering to Regulation 16(1)(a)(ii) of the DSPCR 2011, which allows such awarding “for technical reasons, or for reasons connected with the protection of exclusive rights”, therefore the contract was awarded to a particular economic operator.
The services required could only be provided by NPL Management Limited, due to the extensive interaction with various network-specific organisations as well as government bodies. These entities are integral to the development of UKTL, raising concerns about the allocation of exclusive rights during the establishment of the laboratory and necessitating a company that maintains neutrality. As a public corporation that offers neutrality, NPL Management Limited possesses the requisite expertise in laboratory setup and management. Although there are other public sector bodies that exhibit relevant qualities, their primary remits and expertise do not fulfil the unique requirements of a national-level telecommunications security laboratory. They lacked specialised knowledge in advanced telecom network protocols, cybersecurity threats specific to telecom infrastructure, and the metrology of high-frequency signals, which NPL possesses. Additionally, these entities do not operate high-security facilities for collaborative research on sensitive national security technology.
NPL's expertise in measurement science, its specific and advanced capabilities in telecommunications and cyber security, its role as the UK's National Measurement Institute, and its status as a trusted public sector body with the necessary infrastructure and security clearance experience make it the only public sector organisation feasibly equipped to operate the UKTL for the period of time in question. |