Voice Services · UK public procurement notice

The FCDO (the Authority) is looking to put in place a contract for the provision of voice services to cover the design, installation, monitoring and management, call logging, directory and remote back-up and storage based on the existing Mitel 3300 controller configurations. This contract will cover the period until the FCDO has decided on its future unified communications strategy.

The purpose of this prior information notice is to:

— inform potential suppliers of a possible procurement for the provision of voice services,

— invite potential suppliers to register their interest for a potential procurement, and

— elicit feedback from potential suppliers to inform the development of the procurement and programme strategy. Nothing in this prior information notice is intended to commit the authority to a subsequent procurement.

Please register your interest via the email address as detailed at Section I.3) by no later than 18th June 2021 and ensure the email subject states ‘Expression of Interest’.

FCDO has operated with a Mitel infrastructure since 2010. FCDO own the majority of the Mitel hardware and software, therefore the intention is for service to remain on the existing estate, however upgrades will be required during the life of the contract that offer the best overall value for money solution for FCDO.

The current voice infrastructure and network connectivity enables the communication of voice for over 200 global sites across the FCDO estate and averages 7.5 million calls per annum. During the Covid pandemic, the call volumes were 25,787,753 calls over the 13 month period of 01.03.2020 – 31.03.2021 including all voice calls except internal extension to extensions calls. This unified voice service allows authorised users to use any eligible voice devices on the FCDO estate to communicate internally and externally. The voice service is critical to the continued operation of the FCDO and its presence overseas.

The sites covered by the service are in the following countries; Afghanistan, Albania, Algeria, Angola, Anguilla, Antigua and Barbuda, Argentina, Armenia, Australia, Austria, Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Barbados, Belarus, Belgium, Belize, Bermuda, Bolivia, Bosnia, Botswana, Brazil, British Virgin Islands, Brunei, Bulgaria, Cambodia, Cameroon, Canada, Chad, Chile, China, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cote d'Ivoire, Croatia, Cuba, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Djibouti, Dominican Republic, DR Congo, Ecuador, Egypt, El Salvador, Eritrea, Estonia, Ethiopia, Falkland Islands, Fiji, Finland, France, Gambia, Georgia, Germany, Ghana, Gibraltar, Grand Cayman, Greece, Grenada, Guatemala, Guinea, Guyana, Hungary, Iceland, India, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Irish Republic, Israel, Italy, Jamaica, Japan, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Kosovo, Kuwait, Kyrgyzstan, Laos, Latvia, Lebanon, Lesotho, Liberia, Libya, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Macedonia, Madagascar, Malawi, Malaysia, Mali, Malta, Mauritania, Mauritius, Mexico, Moldova, Mongolia, Montenegro, Montserrat, Morocco, Mozambique, Myanmar, Namibia, Nepal, Netherlands, New Zealand, Niger, Nigeria, North Korea, Norway, Oman, Pakistan, Palestinian Territory, Panama, Papua New Guinea, Paraguay, Peru, Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Qatar, Romania, Russia, Rwanda, S/Sudan, Saint Lucia, Samoa, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, Serbia, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Singapore, Slovakia, Slovenia, Solomon Islands, Somalia, South Africa, South Korea, Spain, Sri Lanka, St Vincent & the Grenadines, Sudan, Swaziland, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan, Tajikistan, Tanzania, Thailand, The Bahamas, Tonga, Trinidad and Tobago, Tristan da Cunha, Tunisia, Turkey, Turkmenistan, Turks & Caicos Islands, Uganda, Ukraine, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, Uruguay, USA, Uzbekistan, Vanuatu, Venezuela, Vietnam, Yemen, Zambia, Zimbabwe. Additional information: The supplier must be able to provide a service at all sites remotely, and if necessary and not possible through local staff, physically.

The procurement route has not been chosen yet and is subject to internal business case approval.