Official UK procurement notice
Schools Gigabit Broadband · UK public procurement notice
Authority: Department for Education (Central government)
What is being bought
Published requirement descriptionIntroduction: School Gigabit Broadband Phase 2
The Department for Education (DfE) is seeking early engagement from interested organisations in relation to the Schools Gigabit Broadband Programme Phase 2.
Please note that this notice is issued solely for the purposes of preliminary market engagement and information gathering. It does not constitute a call for competition, procurement, or invitation to tender. The Department reserves the right not to commence any formal procurement process or enter any contractual arrangements arising from this engagement. Accordingly, the Department will not be liable for any costs, expenditure, work, or effort incurred by any organisation in responding to or participating in activities associated with this notice.
Background: Schools Gigabit Broadband Programme Phase 2
The Schools Gigabit Broadband Programme Phase 2 is a key DfE initiative that supports the Government's ambition to ensure that all schools in England can meet the required digital standards for broadband connectivity. The programme focuses on schools where suitable gigabit-capable connectivity is not currently available and where no commercial or publicly funded solution is expected to be delivered by the end of 2030.
Between 2019 and 2022, the Department facilitated the delivery of gigabit connectivity to approximately 800 rural schools through the Rural Local Full Fibre Networks (LFFN) and Rural Gigabit Connectivity programmes, funded by Building Digital UK (BDUK) through a grant-based approach.
Between 2023 and 2026, the Schools Gigabit Broadband Programme (Phase 1) connected a further 800 schools through a DfE-led procurement, partially funded by BDUK.
Building on the programme's success to date, the Department plans to launch a further phase to connect approximately 800 schools across England that still require gigabit-capable broadband. This will help ensure that all schools have access to reliable, high-speed digital infrastructure that meets DfE standard.
CPV: Communications system maintenance services · Construction work · Network equipment · Networks · Radio, television, communication, telecommunication and related equipment · Telecommunications services · Telephone and data transmission services · Wide area network · Wide area network services
The lotProcurement structure
single lot · no lot value publishedPipeline intelligence · planning stage: how this market runs before the tender is published
How Department for Education buys Maintenance services of telecommunications equipment (CPV 5033), and who usually turns up
Department for Education’s published record next to the market for the same work. Frameworks and DPS are left out: they draw different bid counts. Whole-market view: Maintenance services of telecommunications equipment (CPV 5033) →
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.
Local means the winner is registered in the region where that award was delivered.
A local branch does not count if the registered address is elsewhere.
Most of this buyer’s recorded winners were registered in the region where that award was delivered.
i
How long buyers here take to decide after bids close.
Middle value in days from the bid deadline to the award date, on competitions that published both.
Only decided tenders count, so slow ones still waiting are not in.
Half of these awards have an award date within 50 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 bid9% / 56%
2–335% / 22%
4–624% / 22%
7+31% / 0%
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 estimate39% / 35%
Within ±2%50% / 47%
Above estimate11% / 18%
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 5033Published 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 1,281 past lots.
A forecast, not a list of bidders.
1 bid16%
2–330%
4–628%
7+27%
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
- Works
- 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
- 14 Aug 2026, 18:02 BST
- Last source update
- 14 Aug 2026, 19:08 BST
- FTS notice number
2026/S 000-077889- Latest notice
- Preliminary market engagement notice (UK2)
- Classification (CPV)
- Delivery area
- Official registry OCID
ocds-h6vhtk-06e519Find a Tender
How it was run
Official notice- Submission deadline
- —
Timeline
14 Aug 2026 → 1 Mar 2027 · 4 dates- Planning notice published73 days ago14 Aug 2026, 18:02 BST
- Today27 Oct 2026
- Tender notice expectedin 69 days4 Jan 2027, 23:59 GMT
- Market engagementin 69 days4 Jan 2027, 23:59 GMT
Purpose of the Market Engagement Event
The market engagement event aims to:
- Provide an overview of the Schools Gigabit Broadband Programme Phase 2, including its objectives, scale, geographical demand profile, indicative procurement timetable, and potential technical and commercial requirements.
- Gather supplier insights on current market conditions, delivery challenges, risks, and potential mitigation strategies.
- Share and discuss data being developed jointly by DfE and BDUK and seek feedback to support its refinement before engagement with schools and Responsible Bodies.
- Obtain supplier feedback on programme design, including lotting approaches, commercial models and pricing approaches that best support the intended outcomes.
- Launch a questionnaire to seek further feedback from suppliers on the proposed programme.
Relevant links:
Material: Education Estates Strategy: a decade of national renewal
Link: assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/6989dec6d3f577… ↗
Material: DfE Digital Standards for Schools and Colleges
Link:
www.gov.uk/guidance/meeting-dig… ↗
Market engagement events:
To register for the events below, you will need to create a Jaggaer account via the following link:
Link: education.app.jaggaer.com/web/login.html ↗
Once you have created an account, you will need to access our opportunity notice for Event SSQ_832 – School Gigabit Broadband Market Engagement. To do this, log in to Jaggaer and select the Published Opportunities tab, which can be found under the Sourcing drop-down menu. Our opportunity notice can be accessed via the following link:
Once you have accessed our opportunity notice, you will be able to register your intention to participate via Event SSQ_832 - School Gigabit Broadband, Market Engagement. Within this event, the DfE will broadcast invitations to our market engagement events. It is your responsibility to access these broadcasts and forward our invitations to the relevant colleagues within your organisation.
- Meet the Buyer event and Q&A session
The Department will be hosting a Webinar and Question & Answer Session via Microsoft Teams on the dates below:
25 August 2026, 11:00 till 12:00 (deadline to register 21 August 17:00)
During this event, DfE personnel involved in the project will outline our requirements, the indicative timeline and our procurement approach. The session will provide interested organisations with an opportunity to learn more about the SGB programme and ask questions to inform future planning and potential procurement activity. The DfE will send out our final invitation message on the 24th of August. It is your responsibility to access these messages and forward the invitations to your relevant colleagues.
- Market Engagement Questionnaire
Following our market engagement Webinar and Question & Answer Session, the DfE will share a market engagement pack and questionnaire to attendees. Responses will be used to inform the programme design and procurement approach.
Accordingly, the Department will not be liable for any bid costs, expenditure, work or effort incurred by any organisation acting on the basis of this Prior Information Notice.
All information included in this notice is indicative, subject to change, and is neither exhaustive nor binding. The Authority reserves the right to amend these details at its discretion at any time.
To ensure transparency and equal access to information, the Department intends to publish and share a summary of questions raised during the event, together with responses, with all potential suppliers.
All dates and times for this procurement will be in British Summer Time or Greenwich Mean Time, as applicable under the United Kingdom calendar.
About the buyer
Address
Department for Education
Sanctuary Buildings
Great Smith Street
LONDON
SW1P 3BT
England
Email
- Contract startsin 124 days1 Mar 2027
Notice history
4 events · 4 releases on Find a Tender · since 14 Aug 2026- Preliminary market engagement notice published14 Aug 2026, 18:02 BSTUK2
- Preliminary market engagement notice published14 Aug 2026, 18:05 BSTUK2
- Preliminary market engagement notice published14 Aug 2026, 18:06 BSTUK2
- Preliminary market engagement notice published14 Aug 2026, 19:08 BSTUK2
Routine re-releases (4)
- 2026-08: 1 release · 14 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