Communication Tenders and Contracts

Communication contracts are mostly for hardware and the services that keep it running, such as two-way radio rental and maintenance, fireground and marine VHF radios, Airwave radios, public address systems, radio equipment hire for events, satellite communications and space segment support, M2M SIM management behind remote terminal units, and installation work on aircraft and vehicle communication fits. Software rarely leads these notices.

Stotles brings together communication equipment tenders and contracts from 100+ portals into one search, so you do not have to check each portal separately, and you can set alerts for new opportunities across the UK and Ireland.

If you want to search the government portals directly, Find a Tender carries higher-value contracts across the UK and Contracts Finder carries lower-value contracts in England. Public Contracts Scotland, Sell2Wales and eTendersNI cover Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, Ireland's eTenders covers Irish public bodies, and many councils, NHS bodies and housing associations publish on their own e-tendering portals such as ProContract. Radio and communication equipment is often called off from the Crown Commercial Service Network Services framework, and police and fire buyers publish on the Blue Light e-tendering portal.

Communication equipment tenders are scored on coverage and reliability, device performance, maintenance response, interoperability and whole-life cost. Rental and support contracts run for several years, so service levels matter as much as the hardware.

Radio equipment must meet Ofcom licensing and spectrum rules, and suppliers working on emergency services networks often need security-cleared staff. Tenders usually set minimum insurance cover, check financial standing and ask for evidence of similar contracts at selection stage. Under the Procurement Act 2023, suppliers can be excluded for certain criminal convictions, insolvency or failure to pay tax.

Radios are bought as rentals, replacement programmes and multi-year support, sometimes as call-offs from the CCS Network Services framework. The Ministry of Defence and Home Office are regular buyers, alongside police forces, fire and rescue services, NHS trusts, transport operators and councils.

Read radio replacement programmes, Emergency Services Network transition plans, equipment asset registers and expiry dates for existing support contracts, which show communication equipment work coming due ahead of a notice. On Stotles you can track those signals and the buyers behind them, then follow a notice from pre-tender through to award.

Communication notices carry CPV 32000000 (Radio, television, communication, telecommunication and related equipment) most often, then 64200000 (Telecommunications services) and 32570000 (Communications equipment).