BT/EE win Emergency Services Network contract

Details have emerged in the latest act of the saga of the deployment of communications technology in the much-delayed and controversial emergency services network (ESN) project, with the UK Home Office entering into a mobile services agreement worth £1.85bn with BT Group and its mobile subsidiary EE for the development and provision of a 4G network.

The contract will run for 7.25 years, plus a one-year optional extension, from the execution date. It will supersede an Original Lot 3 Agreement for an ESN infrastructure that was signed on 8 December 2015 between the Home Office and EE, which is due to expire on 31 December 2024. It is also subject to the terms of the mobile services agreement being agreed and early termination of the Original Lot 3 Agreement.

The story of the ESN began in 2015, when the Home Office contracted suppliers to provide a replacement for the existing and well-liked Airwave terrestrial trunked radio (Tetra) network used by all police, fire and ambulance services across England, Scotland and Wales to communicate between the field and control rooms.

It was designed to provide a more robust communications network, with more cost efficiency, significantly streamlining communications capabilities and facilitating first response, enabling fast, safe and secure voice video and data across a 4G network, giving responders immediate access to life-saving data, images and information in live situations and emergencies on the front line.

Working through its Emergency Services Mobile Communications Programme (ESMCP), the Home Office intended the ESN to fully replace Airwave, cost less and provide users with access to “modern” mobile data.

In 2015, the Home Office contracted EE to provide priority access to its mobile network and increase 4G network coverage. It also contracted Motorola Solutions UK to provide software and systems, including critical features not normally found on a mobile network, such as a first-of-a-kind “push-to-talk” functionality. In addition to winning one of the key contracts for the delivery of ESN in 2015, Motorola acquired Airwave Solutions, the owner and operator of the Airwave network, in 2016.

However, almost from inception, the entire ESN has been beset by delays and cost overruns, attracting criticism that led to Motorola Solutions prematurely ending its involvement in the project. The UK’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) opened an investigation into the role of the Airwave network in the ESN in October 2021, with a particular focus on the impact of Motorola’s dual role as the owner of the company providing the planned new mobile radio network and a key supplier.

As a result, the ESN is not expected to be ready until at least 2026, more likely 2029, until which time the emergency services will continue to rely on the Airwave network, which the CMA regards as a monopoly provider of these essential communications services.

In May 2023, the UK government released a tender document through the ESMCP, notifying the IT industry that details previously shared as part of the ESN market engagement activity had been superseded by new procurement and contract documentation.

Under the new contract with EE and BT, the main services to be provided by 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 since 2015.

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 being able to utilise the mobile services suppliers’ commercial radio access network – 4G with an evolution path to 5G Standalone – but with a dedicated core network for ESN.

The mobile services to be delivered also include supporting the provision of coverage in an extended area; air to ground coverage (providing coverage to 10,000 feet); marine coverage to 12 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 person with significant control (PSC) services required by the UK’s three emergency services.

Explaining why it had renewed with EE and its parent, the Home Office noted that it believed only these suppliers were able to provide the required services because competition was absent for “technical” reasons. Moreover, it said that no reasonable alternative or substitute exists, and the absence of competition was not the result of an artificial narrowing down of the parameters of the procurement.

There were said to be a number of reasons for this, chief among them that the UK government requires users to be fully transitioned to the ESN, including a two-year transition period, by 2029. This involves realising the operational advantages of ESN, reducing costs, establishing a network that can be subject to effective competition, and taking all reasonable steps to comply with recommendations of the CMA. The UK government considers that another supplier would not be able to meet these technical requirements within the required timescales.