National Roads Telecommunications Service (NRTS) 3

On 23 April 2025 National Highways issued a UK4 tender notice (Notice identifier: 2025/S 000-016468) on the Find a Tender Service (FTS) platform to inform the market that it intended to run a procurement for the National Roads Telecommunications Service 3 contract (the NRTS3 Contract) under a competitive flexible procedure (section 20(2)(b) of the Procurement Act 2023). National Highways issued the Conditions of Participation documentation on 23 April 2025 and thereafter invited two tenderers to proceed to the Invitation to Tender stage of the procurement.

On 24 October 2025 one of the tenderers withdrew from the process, leaving Telent Technology Services Ltd (Telent) as the only remaining bidder in the procurement.

National Highways is notifying the market pursuant to sections 43 and 44 of the Procurement Act 2023 that, after careful consideration, it has decided to switch to a direct award process and, subject to the conditions set out in this notice, intends to award the NRTS3 Contract to Telent.

Pursuant to section 43(1) of the Procurement Act 2023:

1. National Highways has invited two suppliers to the Invitation to Tender stage of a competitive flexible procurement;

2. A bidder withdrew before the deadline for submission of First Tenders (i.e. before any tenders were received by National Highways) as part of its competitive flexible procedure; and

3. National Highways considers that an award of the NRTS3 Contract under section 19 of the Procurement Act 2023 is not possible due to not receiving any tenders at the point at which one of only two bidders withdrew from the process.

Telent is not an “excluded” or “excludable” supplier for the purposes of sections 57(1) and (2) Procurement Act 2023 and section 43(6)(a); and has not submitted an unsuitable tender pursuant to section 43(6)(b) of the Procurement Act 2023.

Consequently, National Highways’ current intention is to proceed to contract award with Telent. National Highways is still conducting a process with Telent to ensure compliance with the objectives at section 12 Procurement Act 2023.

National Highways intends to make an award subject to the following conditions:

I. That the terms of the NRTS3 Contract are agreed with Telent and not significantly altered from the terms that were circulated with the advertised competitive flexible procurement (see Tender Notice identifier: 2025/S 000-016468);

II. National Highways’ governance and approval processes being met;

III. National Highways reserves its rights to abandon or terminate the direct award process at any stage prior to contract award. In the event National Highways does not proceed to award, it will publish a Procurement Termination Notice pursuant to section 55 Procurement Act 2023.

However, in the event that National Highways successfully completes this direct award process and proceeds to make an award to Telent, it will publish a Contract Award Notice under section 50 of the Procurement Act 2023.

Subject Matter of the NRTS3 Contract:

For additional details and information, please see Tender Notice with identifier: 2025/S 000-016468, as the scope of the procurement is the same as set out in that Tender Notice, but instead of a competitive flexible process, National Highways has switched to a direct award process pursuant to section 43 Procurement Act 2023.

However, in summary the NRTS3 Contract is for the provision, operation and maintenance of telecommunications services between the roadside technology and various central locations operated by and on behalf of National Highways, the body responsible for England's Strategic Road Network (SRN). These services underpin and ensure the safe, secure and sustainable management and operation of the SRN and provide the enabling technology and functionality to deliver National Highways’ Delivery Plan and commitments to deliver the objectives of the Roads Investment Strategy (RIS). The NRTS3 Contract may require further development and enhancement services and solutions to meet the changing requirements of National Highways’ operational roadside technology, and to undertake a programme of renewals to address active network components which will become obsolete during the course of the contract, and which may no longer be supportable.