ClosedTelecoms equipment

Iridium Satellite Modem Supply[E11]

Exeter, United KingdomMet Office[E1]

In plain English

What they want: The Met Office operates a marine weather observation network consisting of 10 offshore buoys, 5 lightvessels (LV) and 60 Voluntary Observing Ships (VOS). Observation data is transmitted globally over satellite back to the Met Office for weather prediction modelling and climate records. Reliable global/offshore communication is essential for the network to operate.
Who can bid: No restrictions are stated in the notice data. The tender documents may set more.
Deadline: Buyer's deadline: 31 Mar 2025, 12:00 UTC+1. UTC: 31 Mar 2025, 11:00 UTC.
Published 17 Feb 2025.
Value: GBP 180,000
Buyer: Met OfficeSee what else this buyer buys and when.
How to apply: Through the buyer's official process. Open the original notice on UK Contracts Finder (OCDS) (opens in a new tab) ↗
Tender documents: The tender documents for this notice are on the buyer's own portal, usually behind a free supplier registration. We link to them and do not fetch them, so the report is based on the notice only.

This opportunity is closed and its deadline has passed. Reports are not available for it.

Deadline[E4]: 31 Mar 2025, 12:00 UTC+1
Value[E12]: GBP 180,000
Published[E9]: 17 Feb 2025
Procedure[E8]: Open procedure (above threshold)
Source: UK Contracts Finder (OCDS) (opens in a new tab)
Last checked: 25 minutes ago

About the requirement

From the notice

The Met Office operates a marine weather observation network consisting of 10 offshore buoys, 5 lightvessels (LV) and 60 Voluntary Observing Ships (VOS). Observation data is transmitted globally over satellite back to the Met Office for weather prediction modelling and climate records. Reliable global/offshore communication is essential for the network to operate. Observation data is currently transmitted over the Iridium SBD network using Iridium 9522b modems, with maximum message sizes of 395 bytes for buoy use and 40-80 bytes for Light Vessel and Voluntary Observation Ship use. These platforms operate on solar/battery power arrangements, all proposed solutions should feature low power usage by design to accommodate the limited power supply arrangements available. Met Office intend to issue a framework agreement with one supplier of Integrated Iridium Modems for the following use cases: • SBD based direct replacement for obsolete Iridium 9522b modems (interim solution) • Certus 100/IMT based solutions for increased observation throughput and remote station access[E5]

Eligibility and requirements

ConditionDelivery location: United Kingdom.[E6]
The notice data states no restriction on who may bid. Exclusion grounds and selection criteria in the tender documents still apply.

Risks and unknowns

UnknownWe read the published notice, not the full tender documents.

Updates

First seen · 28 Oct 2026, 13:41 UTC
The deadline (2025-03-31T11:00:00.000Z) has passed.
Source document de6f2044-f940-4f38-af3a-79940791faad-827090

Evidence

12 facts

Every fact on this page comes from the published notice. Each entry shows the document and the field it was read from.

E1
The buyer is Met Office.
Document de6f2044-f940-4f38-af3a-79940791faad-827090, field /buyer/name, read 28 Oct 2026, 13:41 UTC · source (opens in a new tab)
E2
The notice is classified under CPV 32530000 (Satellite-related communications equipment).
Document de6f2044-f940-4f38-af3a-79940791faad-827090, field /tender/classification/id, read 28 Oct 2026, 13:41 UTC · source (opens in a new tab)
E3
Contracts Finder publishes United Kingdom procurement.
“England”
Document de6f2044-f940-4f38-af3a-79940791faad-827090, field /tender, read 28 Oct 2026, 13:41 UTC · source (opens in a new tab)
E4
Tenders must be submitted by 31 Mar 2025, 12:00 UTC+01:00.
“2025-03-31T12:00:00+01:00”
Document de6f2044-f940-4f38-af3a-79940791faad-827090, field /tender/tenderPeriod/endDate, read 28 Oct 2026, 13:41 UTC · source (opens in a new tab)
E5
The buyer describes the requirement in the notice.
“The Met Office operates a marine weather observation network consisting of 10 offshore buoys, 5 lightvessels (LV) and 60 Voluntary Observing Ships (VOS). Observation data is transmitted globally over satellite back to the Met Office for weather prediction modelling and climate r…”
Document de6f2044-f940-4f38-af3a-79940791faad-827090, field /tender/description, read 28 Oct 2026, 13:41 UTC · source (opens in a new tab)
E6
Delivery location: United Kingdom.
Document de6f2044-f940-4f38-af3a-79940791faad-827090, field /tender/items/0/deliveryAddresses/0, read 28 Oct 2026, 13:41 UTC · source (opens in a new tab)
E7
This is a call for competition. Suppliers can respond.
“tender”
Document de6f2044-f940-4f38-af3a-79940791faad-827090, field /tag, read 28 Oct 2026, 13:41 UTC · source (opens in a new tab)
E8
The procedure is: Open procedure (above threshold).
Document de6f2044-f940-4f38-af3a-79940791faad-827090, field /tender/procurementMethodDetails, read 28 Oct 2026, 13:41 UTC · source (opens in a new tab)
E9
The notice was published on 17 Feb 2025.
“2025-02-17T14:22:56Z”
Document de6f2044-f940-4f38-af3a-79940791faad-827090, field /tender/documents/0/datePublished, read 28 Oct 2026, 13:41 UTC · source (opens in a new tab)
E10
Contracts Finder gives the tender status as active.
Document de6f2044-f940-4f38-af3a-79940791faad-827090, field /tender/status, read 28 Oct 2026, 13:41 UTC · source (opens in a new tab)
E11
The notice is titled "Iridium Satellite Modem Supply".
Document de6f2044-f940-4f38-af3a-79940791faad-827090, field /tender/title, read 28 Oct 2026, 13:41 UTC · source (opens in a new tab)
E12
The stated value is GBP 180,000.
“180000 GBP”
Document de6f2044-f940-4f38-af3a-79940791faad-827090, field /tender/value/amount, read 28 Oct 2026, 13:41 UTC · source (opens in a new tab)

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