Official UK procurement notice
Project Reach · UK public procurement notice
Authority: NETWORK RAIL INFRASTRUCTURE LIMITED (Central government)
What is being bought
Published requirement descriptionFollowing the completion of a competitive procedure, Network Rail ("NR") intends to appoint the Digital Reach Partners consortium to design, deploy, support and fund new public communications networks and supporting infrastructure on the railway in return for the right to use and commercially exploit the new networks and infrastructure under a long-term concession.
The concession may also involve using, upgrading or increasing NR's existing telecoms infrastructure assets.
The consortium comprises Digital Reach Partners Limited, a subsidiary of Neos Networks Limited, as the fibre partner ("Fibre Partner"), and Freshwave Facilities Limited as the connectivity partner ("Connectivity Partner") (together the "Concessionaire Partners").
NR will now observe a standstill period of at least 10 calendar days from the date of this notice. Following expiry of the standstill period, NR and the Concessionaire Partners will enter into a concession agreement and other concession documents
CPV: Ancillary works for telecommunications · Construction and ancillary works for telephone and communication lines · Construction work for communication lines · Construction work for electricity power lines · Electricity distribution and control apparatus · Engineering design services for the construction of civil engineering works · Installation of cable infrastructure · Installation of cable laying · Integrated telecommunications services · Maintenance services of radio-communications equipment · Maintenance services of telecommunications equipment · Masts · +14 more
The lotProcurement structure
single lot · no lot value publishedLot #1PROJECT REACH
PROJECT REACH
BACKGROUND TO NETWORK RAIL TELECOMS
NR owns, operates and develops most of Great Britain's railway infrastructure, which includes over 16,000 km of fibre networks and c. 2,500 wireless masts with co-location potential alongside the rail corridor. These telecoms infrastructure assets are a critical enabler for NR to run a safe and efficient railway service to meet the needs of passengers and freight users.
They support the delivery of secure, efficient and effective services to passengers and freight users by underpinning safety critical operational services, enabling future train control systems and delivering improved passenger experience and safety via information and security systems.
BACKGROUND TO PROJECT REACH
Project Reach is designed to advance wider government policy goals of improving public electronic communications connectivity; futureproof NR's telecoms infrastructure for its own rail requirements; and to enable the provision of the next generation of railway technology to significantly improve safety, reliability and passenger connectivity (together "Reach Outcomes").
PROCESS
The award follows a tender process that was exempt from the UK statutory procurement regime (see Section VI.3 for further information). The original call for competition was advertised on Find a Tender Service on 26 April 2021 (Contract Notice Ref: 2021/S 000-008949).
SCOPE
The main features of the concession are as follows:
The Fibre Partner will be granted (subject to certain exclusions) the following:
- the exclusive right to deploy a new fibre optic network along the rail corridor on NR's controlled estate ("New Reach Fibre") in addition to other NR fibre networks on NR's estate ("Other NR Fibre"); the receipt of dark fibre 'indefeasible rights of use' ("IRU") over allocated capacity on New Reach Fibre;
- the option to receive additional IRU over capacity from Other NR Fibre, with certain IRUs being granted from the outset;
- the exclusive right to commercialise the IRUs received on New Reach Fibre and Other NR Fibre by selling electronic communication services to the public.
The Connectivity Partner will be granted (subject to certain exclusions) the following:
- the exclusive right to deploy mobile connectivity solutions (within certain railway stations and railway tunnels and/or cuttings across railway routes) and commercialise such mobile connectivity solutions for public use; and
- the option to provide white label Wi-Fi service for public use within stations.
NR will receive a revenue share and retain an allocation of New Reach Fibre for various purposes including rail use and supporting the Concessionaire Partners' provision and exploitation of the mobile connectivity solutions. NR will also receive electronic communication services to NR's corporate and operational sites including circuits, fibre and additional connection services.
The estimated value of revenue from the Concessionaire Partners' use and commercial exploitation of the new networks is £740m for the Concessionaire Partners. In addition, NR will provide a capital contribution to support initial deployment of fibre (£100m) and pay for the electronic communication services with an estimated value of £85m-95m.
The initial term of the concession is 37 years, with an option to renew for a further 30 years and an extension of the initial term by up to 10 years if the renewal option is not exercised.
Procedure terms & legal framework
From the official record · publisher note attached- Procedure method
- Award procedure without prior publication of a call for competition
- Legal basis
- CELEX · 32014L0023 Concession Contracts Regulations 2016 (Directive 2014/23/EU)
- Procurement category
- Works
- Notice status
- Awarded without competition
- Procurement threshold
- Unspecified in notice
- Regulatory regime
- Standard
- Commercial structure
- Stand-alone contract (no framework)
- Competition type
- Direct award (no call for competition)
- GPA / WTO covered
- Unspecified in notice
- Recurring procurement
- Unspecified in notice
- First published
- 2 Jun 2025, 17:40 BST
- Last source update
- 2 Jun 2025, 17:40 BST
- FTS notice number
2025/S 000-029322- Classification (CPV)
- Delivery area
- Official registry OCID
ocds-h6vhtk-052b13Find a Tender
- Why no open competition
- The procurement falls outside the scope of application of the directive
- Published justification
Project Reach is an exempt transaction under UK public procurement regulations, as it falls within the scope of the electronic communications exemption in Regulation 11 of the Concession Contracts Regulations 2016. For further information, please see the explanation in Section VI.3.
Publisher note: TYPE OF PROCEDURE Project Reach was awarded following a tender process that was exempt from the UK statutory procurement regime. EXPLANATION Project Reach is an exempt transaction under UK public procurement regulations, as it falls within the scope of the electronic communications exemption in Regulation 11 of the Concession Contracts Regulations 2016. The principal purpose of Project Reach is the provision or exploitation of public communication networks (“PCN”), or the provision of electronic communications services to the public ("PECS"). Specifically, the rights granted by NR to the Concessionaire Partners through Project Reach (see Section II.2.4) enable the deployment and operation of PCNs or the provision of PECS, with the Fibre Partner being obliged to commercialise its fibre allocation (IRUs) by selling PECS, and the Connectivity Partner being obliged to utilise the mobile connectivity solutions to facilitate delivery of PECS by the UK's mobile network operators. Such obligations secure the Reach Outcomes of improving public electronic communications connectivity alongside advancing next generation railway technology. Additionally, NR’s use of the New Reach Fibre and receipt of electronic communication services will secure other stated Reach Outcomes such as futureproofing NR's telecoms infrastructure. Nothing in this notice, nor in its publication, implies any intention or gives rise to an obligation to comply with UK public procurement regulations. It should be noted that this notice is a voluntary notice. AWARD CRITERIA In respect of Section II.2.5, please note that the Concessionaire Partners are being appointed on the basis of the criteria stated in the procurement documents. VALUE Please note that the value stated in Sections II.1.7 and V.2.4 represents the upper range of the estimated value of the concession. The estimated value of the concession is between £925,000,000 and £935,000,000, which is based on the amounts described in Section II.2.4. CONTRACT AWARD DATE As indicated in Section II.1.4, NR will now observe a standstill period of at least 10 calendar days from the date of this notice. Following expiry of the standstill period, NR and the Concessionaire Partners will enter into a concession agreement and other concession documents. Please note that the contract conclusion date stated in Section V.2.1 is the date of VEAT dispatch.
Commercial outcome & contract awards
Published awards, contracts and bid statistics, not a forecast| Awarded to | Value | Date | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| Digital Reach Partners LimitedSME, Freshwave Facilities LimitedSMEjoint awardSubcontracting: declared | £935,000,000 † | — | Awarded |
Contracts
Project Reach · Digital Reach Partners LimitedSME, Freshwave Facilities LimitedSME
- Signed
- 2 Jun 2025
- Value
- £935,000,000
- Status
- active
Contracting authority & participating public bodies
Dispute resolution & review bodies
- High CourtReview body
Bidders & participating suppliers
2 commercial parties on the notice- Digital Reach Partners LimitedAwarded supplier
- Freshwave Facilities LimitedAwarded supplier
Official documents & specifications
Official links; attachments are not copiedNo document links were published on the notice.