Section one: Contracting authority/entity
one.1) Name and addresses
Post Office Limited
Finsbury Dials, 20 Finsbury Street
London
EC2Y 9AQ
Country
United Kingdom
Region code
UK - United Kingdom
Companies House
02154540
Internet address(es)
Main address
Section two: Object
two.1) Scope of the procurement
two.1.1) Title
Extension of Network Tower Services Agreement
two.1.2) Main CPV code
- 72000000 - IT services: consulting, software development, Internet and support
two.1.3) Type of contract
Services
two.2) Description
two.2.3) Place of performance
NUTS codes
- UK - United Kingdom
two.2.4) Description of the procurement at the time of conclusion of the contract:
Post Office had undertaken a review of the existing supply chain and had chosen a strategic IT supply chain and optimal target operating model that adopted industry standards and good practice.
The model chosen allowed the provision of Service Towers being managed by a Service Integrator and Service Desk (SISD) Provider. To deliver this model, a number of procurements commenced in 2012 to identify a prime supplier to act as the SISD, and prime suppliers to support delivery of managed IT technical services comprising several service components through the Service Towers.
This procurement sought a prime supplier to provide a range of IT 'Network Services' which encompassed a range of capabilities necessary to support secure connectivity and communication between and within Post Office locations. This included, but was not limited to:
a) Wide area networks (WAN);
b) Local area network (LAN);
c) Network and IT Security;
d) Unified communications;
e) Mobility services; and
f) Contact centre solutions.
A scalable and flexible solution is required to allow Post Office to grow with customer needs and support increased product diversity, reduced running costs and faster integration with its partners and suppliers. At the end of the contract term the bidder is expected to provide exit management services to transition the services to new suppliers.
two.2.7) Duration of the contract, framework agreement, dynamic purchasing system or concession
Duration in months
96
Section four. Procedure
four.2) Administrative information
four.2.1) Contract award notice concerning this contract
Notice number: 2015/S 117-212027
Section five. Award of contract/concession
Contract No
212027-2015
five.2) Award of contract/concession
five.2.1) Date of conclusion of the contract/concession award decision:
22 April 2015
five.2.2) Information about tenders
The contract/concession has been awarded to a group of economic operators: No
five.2.3) Name and address of the contractor/concessionaire
Verizon UK Limited
Reading International Business Park, Basingstoke Road
Reading
RG2 6DA
Country
United Kingdom
NUTS code
- UK - United Kingdom
Companies House
02776038
The contractor/concessionaire is an SME
No
five.2.4) Information on value of the contract/lot/concession (at the time of conclusion of the contract;excluding VAT)
Total value of the procurement: £105,000,000
Section six. Complementary information
six.4) Procedures for review
six.4.1) Review body
Royal Courts of Justice
London
Country
United Kingdom
Section seven: Modifications to the contract/concession
seven.1) Description of the procurement after the modifications
seven.1.1) Main CPV code
- 72000000 - IT services: consulting, software development, Internet and support
seven.1.3) Place of performance
NUTS code
- UK - United Kingdom
seven.1.4) Description of the procurement:
Continuing provision of services under an existing IT Services contract relating to Network Services provision for Post Offices' Branch and colleague Network.
seven.1.5) Duration of the contract, framework agreement, dynamic purchasing system or concession
Duration in months
36
seven.1.6) Information on value of the contract/lot/concession (excluding VAT)
Total value of the contract/lot/concession:
£45,400,000
seven.1.7) Name and address of the contractor/concessionaire
Verizon UK Limited
Reading
RG2 6DA
Country
United Kingdom
NUTS code
- UK - United Kingdom
Companies House
02776038
The contractor/concessionaire is an SME
No
seven.2) Information about modifications
seven.2.1) Description of the modifications
Nature and extent of the modifications (with indication of possible earlier changes to the contract):
The following key amendments will be made to the Verizon Network Master Services Agreement.
A three year extension of all Services.
seven.2.2) Reasons for modification
Need for additional works, services or supplies by the original contractor/concessionaire.
Description of the economic or technical reasons and the inconvenience or duplication of cost preventing a change of contractor:
This Notice relates to the modification of an existing contract that has been necessary due to the following reasons:
On the 29th April 2022, BT Openreach announced that copper lines would no longer be sold from 118 exchanges across the UK and that by 2026 they will have begun the shutdown of the ageing copper wire telephone line network.
This means that Post Office will need to migrate approximately 11,500 branches away from the copper lines which provide their network connectivity, to an alternative services such as Fibre.
The Services cannot be transferred away from the original contractor before the Copper Stop deadline, which falls after the Verizon contract is currently due to expire (i.e. 20th May 2025), due to the complexity and vastness of Post Office's Branch Network which is critical to the communities it serves.
A change of contractor would result in technical difficulties in implementation as well as operation and maintenance at this time.
Awarding the services to a different contractor would also cause significant inconvenience in terms of service delivery, reliability and continuity of service.
In addition, the decision by BT Openreach to stop the sell of copper services could not have been foreseen by Post Office.
Therefore, Post Office has modified the contract in accordance with Regulations 72 (1) (b) and 72 (1) (c) of the Public Contracts Regulations 2015. NB: The increase in price as a result of the modified contract is less than 50% of the original contract value and the extension does not alter the overall nature of the contract.
The Services have thereby been extended for an additional period of 3 years from the 1st April 2023.
seven.2.3) Increase in price
Updated total contract value before the modifications (taking into account possible earlier contract modifications, price adaptions and average inflation)
Value excluding VAT: £105,000,000
Total contract value after the modifications
Value excluding VAT: £150,400,000