Gigantic Northern Irish networking deal up for grabs

WiFi, telecoms and data network services all required as part of deal which could last for nine years and be worth up to £400m

The Northern Irish government has fired the gun on a massive IT network deal which could be worth up to £400m and span almost a decade.

In a contract notice published recently, the Northern Irish Department of Finance provided details of the framework, claiming it has a requirement to procure services for the Northern Ireland Public Sector Shared Network. The new initiative will replace the existing NICS contract, which will end in September 2019.

The replacement contract will run for a minimum of five years, with two options to extend by two years each. Over this period, the contract will be worth between £50m and £400m, the document claims.

Wireless telecoms, networks, installation, repair and maintenance and data network management will form part of the contract, it said.

The tender adds that the government expects about four suppliers to be invited to participate in the opportunity, and interested parties have until the end of May to submit their tenders.