Official UK procurement notice
Spectrum Monitoring Solutions · UK public procurement notice
Authority: Ofcom (Public body)
What is being bought
Published requirement descriptionOfcom is undertaking this market engagement to understand how available spectrum monitoring systems, software and supporting services could help define and deliver Ofcom’s future monitoring capability. This will inform the ongoing Spectrum Monitoring Strategy and Systems Review, future strategic options, potential investment cases and future procurement considerations.
The focus of this engagement is therefore not simply replacement of existing equipment on a like-for-like basis. Ofcom is seeking to understand the market for modern spectrum monitoring capability, including software-based monitoring platforms, remote operation, automated alerting, spectrum data storage and retrieval, direction-finding integration, analytics, and options that could support both current operational work and future evidence-led spectrum management.
We anticipate a budget range for future equipment to be between £5m - £20m.
CPV: Maintenance services of telecommunications equipment · Telecommunications equipment · Telecommunications equipment and supplies
The lotProcurement structure
single lot · no lot value publishedPipeline intelligence · planning stage: how this market runs before the tender is published
How Ofcom buys Telecommunications cable and equipment (CPV 3252), and who usually turns up
Ofcom’s own published record, next to the published market for the same work. Frameworks and DPS are kept out: they attract a different number of bids. Whole-market view: Telecommunications cable and equipment (CPV 3252) →
How the contest usually goes
Winner shares use published awards; bid and price charts use contested lots.
i
How often small and medium firms win.
Share of awards where the winner’s size is known.
The counts under this question show how many awards have a known supplier size.
Small firms have won here. Neither number says whether you qualify; it describes who has been winning.
i
How often local firms win similar work.
Winners with a registered address in the delivery region, out of awards with a known address.
Here, local means the winner is registered in the region where that contract was delivered.
A local branch does not count if the registered address is elsewhere.
No winner locations published for this authority. Local means a registered address in Greater London.
i
How long buyers here take to decide after bids close.
Middle value in days from the deadline to the first award notice, on competitions that published both dates.
Only decided tenders count, so slow ones still waiting are not in.
Half of these awards were announced within 79 days of the bid deadline.
i
How often work is awarded with no recorded rival.
Direct awards and tenders where every published lot count shows one bid.
Both shares are minimums: some awards have no bid count.
Thin markets produce this too; it is not proof of a tailored specification.
Direct awards or one recorded bid are common here. Check the route before spending time on a bid.
How many bids did past lots attract?
i
How many bids past lots received.
Each colour is a bid-count range. Only competed lots with a published count are included.
Past bids do not predict this tender.
1 bid29% / 13%
2–341% / 44%
4–618% / 19%
7+12% / 25%
How did awards compare with estimates?
i
Where winning prices landed against estimates.
Each colour shows awards below, close to or above the published estimate, one lot at a time.
Past prices are a guide, not a bid price.
Below estimate14% / 54%
Within ±2%29% / 46%
Above estimate57% / 0%
Assess each lot i
What past awards tell you about each lot.
See the forecast, this buyer’s earlier suppliers and firms with relevant wins.
No supplier is confirmed as a bidder.
i
What past awards tell you about each lot.
See the forecast, this buyer’s earlier suppliers and firms with relevant wins.
No supplier is confirmed as a bidder.
Open a lot for its forecast, this buyer’s previous supplier and possible competitors, from published award history, not a bid list
Lot #1CPV 3252Published estimate£20m
i
How many bids this lot may attract.
The forecast uses similar past competitions. The bar shows either that forecast or past bid counts; the line below says which.
Each lot shows its own forecast based on its own category; forecasts for different lots of the same notice are not comparative. The bar shows 16 past lots.
A forecast, not a list of bidders.
1 bid13%
2–344%
4–619%
7+25%
i
Where the award price may land.
The forecast uses similar awards and the buyer’s estimate. The band covers the middle half of likely prices.
No comparable awards for this lot yet.
A statistical guide from past awards, not a price to bid.
Who has supplied this buyer on similar work? i
Who has done similar work for this buyer.
Past contracts are matched by buyer, title and type of work.
A past supplier may not bid again.
i
Who has done similar work for this buyer.
Past contracts are matched by buyer, title and type of work.
A past supplier may not bid again.
No earlier contract of this buyer matches this lot on the published record.
Who could compete for this lot? i
Who could compete for this lot?
Firms with relevant past wins. On a framework, we show firms on that agreement.
None is confirmed as a bidder.
i
Who could compete for this lot?
Firms with relevant past wins. On a framework, we show firms on that agreement.
None is confirmed as a bidder.
Candidate suppliers for this notice have not been worked out yet, so this is not a verdict that nobody fits.
About this data
- Source. Official UK public procurement notices (Find a Tender), reused under the Open Government Licence v3.0. New notices arrive through the day; the figures are rebuilt nightly.
- Two views, kept apart. The authority’s own track record and the wider market for the same kind of work sit side by side and are never mixed. Where the local picture is too thin, a figure widens to a broader market and says which one it used.
- Forecasts are labelled. The price forecast and its range, possible competitors and the earlier-work matches are our estimates from past awards: not published facts, not win chances and not price advice. Official notices do not say who is bidding.
- Every figure shows what it rests on. Not every notice publishes a bid count, a value or a delivery region, so each figure carries the number of records behind it, and one built on few records is marked as such. The on a figure explains it; the counting rules are in the methodology. Spotted something wrong? Tell us.
Procedure terms & legal framework
From the official record- Legal basis
- UKPGA · 2023/54 Procurement Act 2023
- Procurement category
- Goods
- Notice status
- Planned procurement
- Procurement threshold
- Above threshold (FTS publication)
- Regulatory regime
- Standard
- Commercial structure
- Stand-alone contract (no framework)
- Competition type
- Competitive procedure
- GPA / WTO covered
- Unspecified in notice
- Recurring procurement
- Unspecified in notice
- First published
- 21 Aug 2026, 11:52 BST
- Last source update
- 16 Sept 2026, 12:16 BST
- Authority reference
C20262811- FTS notice number
2026/S 000-087707- Latest notice
- Preliminary market engagement notice (UK2)
- Classification (CPV)
- Delivery area
- Official registry OCID
ocds-h6vhtk-06e973Find a Tender
How it was run
Official notice- Submission deadline
- —
Timeline
21 Aug 2026 → 1 Jun 2028 · 5 dates- Planning notice published61 days ago21 Aug 2026, 11:52 BST
- Latest notice published35 days ago16 Sept 2026, 12:16 BST
- Market engagement28 days ago23 Sept 2026, 23:59 BST
The purpose of this preliminary market engagement (PME) questionnaire is to seek input from market participants to inform and help us inform our procurement strategy.
The PME will provide Ofcom with the opportunity to obtain insight into the available Spectrum Monitoring solutions on the market, how potential Suppliers might approach delivery of the good(s)/service(s) in question and gain an understanding of the capability/interest from the market.
This PME will be in the form of a questionnaire, and possibly some discussion between the Ofcom Project Team and interested Suppliers.
If you would like to participate in the PME exercise, please access the PME document available via Ofcom's Jaggaer procurement portal at ofcom.ukp.app.jaggaer.com ↗.
To access the PME documents interested suppleirs will need to be registered as a supplier on the Ofcom Jaggaer esourcing portal. Visit the URL above and click on 'Register here'.
If already registered log-in to Ofcom's Jaggaer esourcing portal and go to the PQQ page 'pqq_96 - Spectrum Monitoring Preliminary Market Engagement', complete the questionnaire, attach it where indicated in the Technical envelope and Submit.
Clarification questions can be submitted via the messaging facility within the pqq_96.
The closing deadline for submitting completed questionnaires is 12 noon, 18 September 2026.
- Today21 Oct 2026
- Tender notice expectedin 223 days1 Jun 2027, 23:59 BST
- Contract starts1 Jun 2028, 00:00 BST
Notice history
5 events · 4 releases on Find a Tender · since 21 Aug 2026- Preliminary market engagement notice published21 Aug 2026, 11:52 BSTUK2
- Preliminary market engagement notice published21 Aug 2026, 12:12 BSTUK2
- Preliminary market engagement notice published10 Sept 2026, 14:55 BSTUK2
- Published value updated10 Sept 2026, 14:55 BST
- Preliminary market engagement notice published16 Sept 2026, 12:16 BSTUK2
Published amendments (3)
Changed of 'Particular suitability to Small and medium-sized enterprises (SME) and Voluntary, community and social enterprises (VCSE) to 'No'. While Ofcom would welcome engagement from SMEs and/or VCSEs - it is difficult to know if this PME will be of 'particular suitability' to these types of enterprises.
Changed of 'Particular suitability to Small and medium-sized enterprises (SME) and Voluntary, community and social enterprises (VCSE) to 'No'. While Ofcom would welcome engagement from SMEs and/or VCSEs - it is difficult to know if this PME will be of 'particular suitability' to these types of enterprises. Budget changed from £5m to a range of between £5m to £20m.
Changed of 'Particular suitability to Small and medium-sized enterprises (SME) and Voluntary, community and social enterprises (VCSE) to 'No'. While Ofcom would welcome engagement from SMEs and/or VCSEs - it is difficult to know if this PME will be of 'particular suitability' to these types of enterprises. Budget changed from £5m to a range of between £5m to £20m. Questinnaire submission deadline …
Routine re-releases (4)
- 2026-08: 1 release · 21 Aug 2026
Commercial outcome & contract awards
Pipeline notice- Awards (0)
- No award published
- Contracts (0)
- No contract published
- Bid statistics
- No aggregate bid statistics published
Contracting authority & participating public bodies
Official documents & specifications (4)
Official links; attachments are not copiedNotices published for this procedure
- Preliminary market engagement notice Preliminary market engagement notice on Find a Tender
- Preliminary market engagement notice Preliminary market engagement notice on Find a Tender
- Preliminary market engagement notice Preliminary market engagement notice on Find a Tender
- Preliminary market engagement notice Preliminary market engagement notice on Find a Tender