Published date: 4 December 2018

Closed early engagement


Closing date: 31 December 2018

Contract summary

Industry

  • Radio, television, communication, telecommunication and related equipment - 32000000

  • Postal and telecommunications services - 64000000

  • IT services: consulting, software development, Internet and support - 72000000

Location of contract

South West

Procurement reference

DORST001-DN379273-28017812

Published date

4 December 2018

Closing date

31 December 2018

Contract is suitable for SMEs?

Yes

Contract is suitable for VCSEs?

No


Description

This notice is for Prior Information Only and is used to invite organisations to contribute (be 'Contributors') to a market consultation ('Consultation') prior to commencement of any procurement(s).

Dorset County Council, on behalf of the Superfast Dorset partnership with the backing of Dorset Local Enterprise Partnership, is commencing an open procurement for superfast broadband infrastructure.

There is the opportunity, through secured funding (derived from a DefRA grant, underspend in existing contracts, and Gainshare results of previous and existing superfast contracts) to complete ambitions of as close as possible to 100% coverage in Dorset by building superfast broadband infrastructure to a prioritised list of premises in hard to reach areas of Dorset. Overall public funds available will be in the order of £6M - £11M.

Throughout December, and possibly early January too (depending on responses), there will be supplier engagement meetings held to discuss how we might structure the procurement to ensure the most interest from the widest variety of suppliers. We will be looking at creative/innovative solutions for the premises in the identified areas.

An invitation to tender is being developed and your input into this process is sought to help us build a clear understanding of:
• Procurement approach; intervention scale
• Technical and commercial delivery models
• Market appetite and capacity/ability to deploy superfast networks to these harder to reach areas
• Levels of private sector investment
• Engagement with State Aid requirements
• Any concerns the market has about returning a bid
• Factors we can influence to make the opportunity more attractive

We will be directly contacting suppliers to arrange meetings, but to ensure you are a priority in this activity, please email superfast@dorsetcc.gov.uk to show interest and request a meeting.

An Open Market Review (OMR) document will be published on the project website:
https://www.dorsetforyou.gov.uk/business-consumers-licences/superfast-dorset/about-superfast-dorset/state-aid.aspx


More information

Additional text

If you wish to discuss this in advance, please feel free to contact

Chris Harrington (Superfast Dorset project manager) c.harrington@dorsetcc.gov.uk 01305 221164
or
Dugald Lockhart (Superfast Dorset project lead) d.a.lockhart@dorsetcc.gov.uk 01305 224207

Project e-mail: superfast@dorsetcc.gov.uk

Project website: http://www.dorsetforyou.gov.uk/superfast

The target release date for the Open Market Review document is January 2019. Please check the website after this date to download a copy of the OMR document. Please note that the website includes other public consultation documents so there is a need to ensure that the relevant OMR document for Ultrafast Broadband is used.


About the buyer

Contact name

Chris Harrington

Address

Dorset County Council
County Hall
Dorchester
DT1 1XJ
England

Email

superfast@dorsetcc.gov.uk

Website

http://www.dorsetforyou.gov.uk/superfast