Biz as usual for Brit public sector: ESN replacement is 12 years late and £3B over budget
UK police tech buyers have awarded a £25 million no-competition contract for communications technology first commissioned in 2000, with the replacement project 12 years behind schedule and £3 billion over budget.
The Police Digital Service issued a notice stating that it needed to extend contracts for Terrestrial Trunked Radio (TETRA) handsets, software, accessories, services, and maintenance for the legacy Airwave system – bypassing competitive tender so ambulance, fire, and police services "can remain fully operational."
The six-month extension, worth around £25 million, split between suppliers Motorola and Sepura, runs from the start of next year. The original contract began in January 2023, valued at £50 million for four years.
The government began planning for an Airwave/TETRA replacement in 2012, targeting a 4G-based successor by 2017. Estimates suggest that the project is now £3 billion over budget and is not expected to go live until 2029.
"A short extension of the TETRA Contract for a period of six months is required to ensure that public safety agencies operating under the contract can remain fully operational on the TETRA‑based UK Airwave network until the broadband‑enabled Emergency Services Network (ESN) is ready for deployment," the notice says.
Supporting Airwave technology while developing the ESN has cost a combined £11 billion over ten years, according to the National Audit Office (NAO). Motorola's role in both systems drew scrutiny from the Competition and Markets Authority owing to a potential conflict of interest over pricing and delivery. Together with the Home Office's negotiations with Motorola, this led the US technology supplier to walk away from its £400 million contract for ESN.
The latest procurement notice confirms reports that ESN will not go live until 2029, saying that this does not give it time to onboard new suppliers to compete for the TETRA/Airwave technology contract.
"Onboarding any new supplier into the… scheme or developing a new accreditation pathway would require an extended period of time, likely exceeding the published ESN delivery schedule (currently December 2029). Any new supplier entering the market is highly likely to face the risk of introducing a TETRA‑only product that becomes increasingly obsolete for UK requirements," it said.
According to the NAO, the Home Office expected Motorola to be awarded £304 million for work on ESN by March 31, including money for software and systems that the emergency services will not use whenever ESN goes live.
Officials explained the framework extension is intended to cover the gap until another framework, from the Crown Commercial Service (CCS), enables blue light organizations to buy network services, including Tetra Radio. That framework will be available from February next year, according to a market engagement notice published in September 2025. However, Police Digital Service has built in contingency for unplanned delay to the CCS framework. ®