NSSL Extension · UK public procurement notice

Official notice

Authority: Ministry of Defence (Central government)

GoodsAward procedure without prior publication of a call for competition

Sectors: Radio, television, communication, telecommunication and related equipment (32) Delivery: UK

Awarded value£9,000,000published contract · exc. VAT

Awarded 19 Aug 2022no call for competition

Awarded to NSSL Global

What is being bought

Published requirement description

Provision of Commercial Satellite Services, including Airtime, Equipment and Engineering Services.

CPV: Satellite communications equipment

The lotProcurement structure

single lot · no lot value published

Lot #1Defence Digital, Strategic Connectivity, part of the UK Ministry of Defence (MOD)…

Defence Digital, Strategic Connectivity, part of the UK Ministry of Defence (MOD) intends to amend a contract to NSSL Global Limited to allow the continuation of existing NSSL Catalogue Enabling Contract for a further 18 months from 1 September 2022 to 29 February 2024 to maintain a product catalogue capability for various Front Line Commands (FLC) and other Government Departments (OGD) to purchase Commercial Satellite (CS) engineering services, airtime and equipment in support of military operations worldwide, prior to this requirement being consumed into the Service Delivery Wrap requirement currently being competed for separately.

Justification For Non-Competitive Decision:

In accordance with regulation 4 of Defence and Security Public Procurement (Amendment etc.) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019 SI No. 2019/697, this procurement falls to be regulated under the provisions of the Defence and Security Public Contracts Regulations 2011 (DSPCR 2011) as amended (in particular by SI 2019/697 and SI 2020/1450). Prior publication of a contract notice in the Official Journal of the European Union is no longer appropriate. It is considered that amendment of this contract without prior publication of a contract notice in the UK e-notification service (as required by the relevant legislation) is lawful in accordance with regulation 16(1)(a)(ii) of the DSPCR 2011 because competition is absent for technical reasons.

Technical reasons:

NSSL Global are the only economic entity that can provide the technical know-how and systems required to deliver the capability that meets the requirement within the required timescale to maintain operational readiness- NSSL Global Ltd currently provide a bespoke, ground-based network infrastructure which is owned and operated by NSSL Global Limited and the Authority does not have sufficient rights in the system to provide information to any third party to operate.

An alternate service provider would need to provide a MoD Assured UK based Network Operating Centre with security cleared personnel and central Point of Presence in the UK with MoD Assured links to their various teleports and 3rd party communications services. Replicating the existing network infrastructure would be complex, technically challenging and not without significant operational risk. Such a process would normally take up to 2 years to design, build and gain the necessary Assurances/Accreditation before migrating to a new network. An alternate service provider would also require ‘List X’ status in order to ensure the same technical and security guarantees for MoD data. This includes access, operation and maintenance of secure Gateways on commercial premises (Redhill) and MoD owned sites as well as access and handling of high-grade Cryptographic equipment and information classified up to and including Secret.

Delivery: UK

Procedure terms & legal framework

From the official record

Procedure method: Award procedure without prior publication of a call for competition
Legal basis: CELEX · 32009L0081 Defence and Security Public Contracts Regulations 2011 (Directive 2009/81/EC)
Procurement category: Goods
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: 19 Aug 2022, 13:00 BST
Last source update: 19 Aug 2022, 13:00 BST
FTS notice number: 2022/S 000-023124
Classification (CPV): Satellite communications equipment
Delivery area: UK
Official registry OCID: ocds-h6vhtk-036057 Find a Tender

Why no open competition: The procurement falls outside the scope of application of the directive
Published justification: Justification For Non-Competitive Decision:
In accordance with regulation 4 of Defence and Security Public Procurement (Amendment etc.) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019 SI No. 2019/697, this procurement falls to be regulated under the provisions of the Defence and Security Public Contracts Regulations 2011 (DSPCR 2011) as amended (in particular by SI 2019/697 and SI 2020/1450). Prior publication of a contract notice in the Official Journal of the European Union is no longer appropriate. It is considered that amendment of this contract without prior publication of a contract notice in the UK e-notification service (as required by the relevant legislation) is lawful in accordance with regulation 16(1)(a)(ii) of the DSPCR 2011 because competition is absent for technical reasons.
Technical reasons:
NSSL Global are the only economic entity that can provide the technical know-how and systems required to deliver the capability that meets the requirement within the required timescale to maintain operational readiness- NSSL Global Ltd currently provide a bespoke, ground-based network infrastructure which is owned and operated by NSSL Global Limited and the Authority does not have sufficient rights in the system to provide information to any third party to operate.
An alternate service provider would need to provide a MoD Assured UK based Network Operating Centre with security cleared personnel and central Point of Presence in the UK with MoD Assured links to their various teleports and 3rd party communications services. Replicating the existing network infrastructure would be complex, technically challenging and not without significant operational risk. Such a process would normally take up to 2 years to design, build and gain the necessary Assurances/Accreditation before migrating to a new network. An alternate service provider would also require ‘List X’ status in order to ensure the same technical and security guarantees for MoD data. This includes access, operation and maintenance of secure Gateways on commercial premises (Redhill) and MoD owned sites as well as access and handling of high-grade Cryptographic equipment and information classified up to and including Secret.

Commercial outcome & contract awards

Published awards, contracts and bid statistics, not a forecast

Awards 1

Awarded value £9,000,0001 contract exc. VAT

Contracts signed 1latest 19 Aug 2022

Awarded to	Value	Date	Status
NSSL GlobalSubcontracting: declared	£9,000,000 †	—	Awarded

Contracts

Contract 023124-2022-NETBLOS/SAT009-1 · NSSL Global
Signed
19 Aug 2022
Value
£9,000,000
Status
active

Contracting authority & participating public bodies

Ministry of Defence

Contracting authorityCentral GovernmentMinistry or any other national or federal authority, including their regional or local subdivisionsDefence Corsham, UKContact email

Dispute resolution & review bodies

Ministry of Defence - Defence DigitalReview body Corsham

Bidders & participating suppliers

1 commercial party on the notice

NSSL Global LimitedAwarded supplier Redhill, UK

Official documents & specifications

Official links; attachments are not copied

No document links were published on the notice.