Purpose

Commencement of a Procurement Exercise for Mobile Telephony Services

Decision

For the reasons set out in this report, the Corporate Director has decided to:

1)     Approve the commencement of a procurement exercise for the provision of Mobile Voice and Data Services and Microsoft Teams mobile licensing at an estimated annual cost of £175k for a term of four years plus a two-year extension option.

Alternative options considered

Option 1: Do Nothing

The option of not commencing a procurement exercise has been considered and rejected. Failure to procure a replacement mobile telephony service would introduce significant operational, financial, legal and service delivery risks to the Council. Mobile voice and data services are essential to the delivery of frontline and corporate services and support the Council's agile working arrangements. Without a replacement contract, the Council could experience service disruption, reduced productivity, increased costs and an inability to demonstrate compliance with procurement legislation and Contract Procedure Rules. For these reasons, commencing a procurement exercise is considered the most appropriate and prudent course of action.

Option 2: Other communication technologies

The Council considered a number of alternative options including increasing reliance on Microsoft Teams Voice, a Wi-Fi-only communications model, and a Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) approach. These options were rejected as they would not provide the level of resilience, security, mobility and operational flexibility required to support the delivery of Council services.