ESMCP - Mobile Services Agreement for the Emergency Services Network

Description

On 8 December 2015 the Secretary of State for the Home Department (the "Authority") and EE Ltd ("EE") entered into a contract for the development and provision of a 4G network, as part of the Home Office's emergency services network ("ESN") project (the "Original Lot 3 Agreement"). ESN is to be used by the emergency services and other organisations that have a requirement for a public safety communications solution ("PSCS"). The Original Lot 3 Agreement is due to expire on 31 December 2024. The Authority intends to enter into a new contract (the "Mobile Services Agreement") jointly with EE and British Telecommunications Plc (“BT”) (together “the MS Suppliers” and both wholly owned by BT Group Plc), subject to the terms of the Mobile Services Agreement being agreed and terminate the Original Lot 3 Agreement early. The Term of the succeeding Mobile Services Agreement will be for a period of 7.25 years (plus one year optional extension) from execution date, which is currently anticipated to be during Q4 2024. The Agreement may also be subject to a termination assistance services (TAS) period where /if required. The detail in this VEAT notice reflects the key commercial principles of the Mobile Services Agreement as agreed between the parties; further detail on scope is set out at II.2.4 below. Lot 1: The main services to be provided by the MS Suppliers shall include the services specified in the Original Lot 3 Agreement with certain modifications which are designed to optimise the delivery and performance of the ESN, based on experience gained during the Original Lot 3 Agreement. Key elements of the Mobile Services Agreement include: • The provision of the network coverage element of the ESN programme to support mission critical communications. This also includes services associated with ESN User Organisations (“UOs”) being able to utilise the MS Suppliers’ commercial radio access network (4G with an evolution path to 5G Stand Alone) but with a dedicated core network for ESN. The Mobile Services also include services to support the provision of coverage in the Extended Area, Air to Ground coverage (providing coverage to ten thousand feet), marine coverage to twelve nautical miles offshore, the London Underground and other specific locations including specified road and rail tunnels and rail stations, and the provision of mobile network coverage capable of supporting the critical PSCS services required by the 3 Emergency Services (“3ES”); • The provision of specific technical interfaces to enable connectivity to the ESN network, • The management of availability and capacity across the ESN network, • The provision of support services as required to optimise the network for PSCS usage, • The provision of deployment and testing services in order to test services (incl. the testing of ESN devices). Building on the success of rolling out coverage in remote areas of Great Britain during the Original Lot 3 Agreement, the Mobile Services Agreement moves on to focus on the provision of operationally acceptable coverage and how the network will be reported on and visualised in-life when the UOs have transitioned off the incumbent Airwave network. The services shall also include: • The ongoing protection of coverage scope and the provision of in-fill coverage at key critical operational locations such as high footfall locations (stadia, shopping centres, travel hubs), hospitals, police stations, fire stations and critical national infrastructure locations, where appropriate using infrastructure that is or can be shared by other MNOs, as well as a process for remedying coverage gaps in areas of high risk for UOs. • Further deployment of network power resilience to mitigate national and local power outages to ensure that UOs can continue to operate safely and effectively if and when such events occur. • A more streamlined and optimised approach for service acceptance and in-life management. In recent years the telecoms industry has seen significant improvements in network tooling. The Mobile Services solution aims to take advantage of these tools to ensure that savings are realised without the need to carry out regular mass network testing to ensure coverage is being provided. In addition, the Mobile Services Agreement will: • Be updated to include Social Value responsibilities and certain changes to bring it in line with Model Services v2.0 that have been brought into Law / policy since the Original Lot 3 Agreement was signed • Alter the commercial model to better reflect alignment with the services being delivered and the timing of payments • Incorporate mechanisms to address the introduction of a new User Services supplier following the outcome of a parallel ESN Programme procurement • Include more granular regional KPIs to improve the management of the services • Update the requirements in relation to collaboration across suppliers, insurance and liability levels and also settles several outstanding areas of dispute. The value of the procurement noted at II.1.7 above is up to £1,850,000,000. This is made up of: • The contract price; • The optional one-year extension to the term (there is no commitment to enact the extension, but it is being included for clarity and transparency); • Indexation; • Circa £215m of anticipated spend includes potential additional macro and operational location site builds; • Potential re-baselining costs associated with engaging a new User Services Provider, anticipated within the first year of the Agreement; • Potential downstream charges for Tariffs; • Foreseen contract variations to align with future coverage location analysis and other ESN supplier activities; • Less certain spend includes all further items detailed within the optional services catalogue (for additional specific services which the Authority and UOs require and have the option to purchase); • The Sourcing of a coverage extender deployable by Users to enhance coverage to support operational incidents.