£60m education networking framework up for grabs

Six university purchasing consortiums team up to dish out two-year networks deal

A £60m contact to supply networking equipment to six national university purchasing consortiums is now available.

The North-Eastern Universities Purchasing Consortium (NEUPC) is leading the purchase, which will see a range of networks, operating systems, routers, cabling and related services supplied to the groups.

Purchasing consortiums for the South and North West of England, London and Wales are included as part of the contract, as well as the Advanced Procurement for Universities and Colleges.

The contract is set to last for two years with the possibility of two 12-month extensions, and is set to be be worth £60m excluding VAT.

Lead buyer NEUPC expects 24 suppliers to be welcomed on to the framework, which is expected to be split into four lots.

Lot one will be for network equipment only, while the second – which will be worth about £1m – will cover network equipment, design, implementation, maintenance, training and disposal.

The third lot will cover the same areas as the second, but is set to be worth in excess of £1m, while the final lot is for consultancy services only and will not be open to suppliers awarded either of the preceding lots.

The deadline for submissions is 23 August.