eLoran Infrastructure - land, towers and sites

Introduction and Purpose

The Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT) is undertaking pre‑market engagement to inform the potential development of infrastructure required to support a future eLoran capability in the UK.

This engagement is specifically focused on understanding market capability and experience in relation to:

land acquisition and leasing;

access to, and utilisation of, existing tower and antenna infrastructure; and

refurbishment, repurposing, or upgrade of existing tower assets for potential use within an eLoran network.

The purpose of this exercise is to:

build DSIT’s understanding of available infrastructure solutions and routes to market;

explore/test potential delivery approaches and commercial models to help support the programme design; and

assess the feasibility of leveraging existing assets and locations to support a future service.

This engagement is exploratory in nature and does not constitute a formal procurement process. It is intended to inform internal planning and decision-making only.

Background – eLoran Programme

Positioning, Navigation and Timing (PNT) services underpin a range of critical UK sectors, including telecommunications, energy, finance, transport and emergency services. These services are currently highly dependent on satellite-based systems, which may be vulnerable to disruption.

eLoran (enhanced Long Range Navigation) is a terrestrial technology which has the potential to provide a complementary, resilient PNT capability. Delivery of such a capability would require a network of transmitting sites, with associated land, infrastructure, and power provision considerations.

As part of the early programme development, DSIT is exploring how existing infrastructure and land opportunities could be utilised to support a potential network, including:

repurposing or upgrading existing tower sites;

co-location or sharing arrangements with existing infrastructure providers; and

identification and acquisition (or leasing) of suitable land where required.

What We Are Seeking from the Market

Through this pre‑market engagement, DSIT is seeking input from organisations with relevant expertise to better understand:

1. Land and site acquisition approaches:

availability of suitable land for long-term lease or acquisition

experience of securing and managing sites for comparable infrastructure

considerations relating to planning, access, utilities and long-term use

2. Existing infrastructure and tower assets:

opportunities to utilise or adapt existing towers, masts, or antenna infrastructure

availability of sites suitable for potential eLoran transmission equipment

constraints or considerations associated with reuse or co-location

3. Refurbishment and upgrade capability:

experience in refurbishing or strengthening legacy infrastructure

requirements to adapt existing towers for high-power transmission use

typical timelines, costs, and technical constraints

4. Delivery and commercial considerations:

alternative delivery models (e.g. lease, managed services, partnerships)

approaches to risk allocation and long-term operation

dependencies, constraints and key success factors

Next Steps

Insights gathered through this engagement will be used to inform DSIT’s approach to any future programme activity, including potential options for infrastructure development and commercial delivery models.

For the avoidance of doubt, this notice is not informing the market of an imminent procurement. All costs pertaining to the completion of this response are to be borne by the responders.

Participation in this exercise is voluntary and does not confer any advantage or pre-qualification for any future procurement activity.

Respondents should contact NPNTO@dsit.gov.uk to express interest and receive details of the eLoran infrastructure pre-market engagement questions.

The questions will then be explored with each organisation on a one-to-one basis. Respondents should anticipate an invitation to discussions, either face-to-face at DSIT offices in London or via Teams call.

Information arising from the discussions relevant to future programme activity will be shared with the market.

Deadline for respondents to express interest is 10th July 2026. One-to-one discussions will be arranged as each individual response is received.