The Home Office has awarded a major contract to IBM to play a leading role in the development of the Emergency Services Network (ESN).
They have agreed on a £1.36 billion deal, which began in December and will run for seven years with options to extend for two more, for the provision of user services.
It marks a stage in the recovery of the programme to develop the ESN following a series of delays and a reset since it was launched in 2015.
The ESN will replace the existing Airwave network for the exchange of voice, video and data in emergencies and frontline operations by police, ambulance and fire and rescue services, providing support for more than 300,000 emergency responders.
As the new user services supplier, IBM will be responsible for leading the design, build and system integration of the ESN platform, and delivering the IT infrastructure. It will work on the programme with a number of partners including Samsung Electronics, Ericsson, Frequentis, Exponential-E and Palo Alto Networks.
Bringing network online
Minister for Policing, Fire and Crime Prevention Dame Diana Johnson said: “This Government is working tirelessly to support this project, making sure it is delivered in a timely and cost-effective manner, and IBM will be an important part of bringing the Emergency Services Network online.”
Delays in the ESN programme prompted highly critical reports published in 2023 by the National Audit Office and Parliament’s Public Accounts Committee. Earlier that year the Home Office terminated the contract with Motorola Solutions for the user services role.
The programme was originally scheduled to deliver the network by 2020, but after the delays there is still no firm date for when it is expected to become active.
There have been efforts to revive the momentum of the programme with major contracts awarded last year to BT and EE for mobile services and to CGI as technical delivery partner.
