Provision of mobile telephony services

The European Border and Coast Guard Agency (FRONTEX) is inviting tenders for mobile telephony services through the call FRONTEX/2025/OP/0010. This tender is an open procedure with electronic submissions required, and the deadline for submission is May 30, 2025, at 12:00 Europe/Warsaw time. The total estimated value of the contract is 14,000,000 EUR, with a maximum duration of 48 months. The contract will be awarded based on the best price-quality ratio and will be framed as a framework agreement without reopening competition.

The purpose of this contract is to provide mobile telephony services for FRONTEX staff and selected personnel for their operational needs. The services required include the provision of SIM cards with subscription plans for mobile voice, text, and data services, which should cover geographically dispersed locations across EU member states and outside the EU. Additionally, the contractor must implement solutions for mobile service usage control, manage various data and voice plans, and maintain a 24/7 professional helpdesk for problem resolution and service support.

Eligible applicant types include telecommunications operators, service providers, large enterprises, and potentially consortia, as the selection criteria encompass professional suitability, economic and financial standing, technical and professional ability. Although it does not explicitly mandate a consortium, it is suggested that a group of companies may be better positioned to fulfill the contract's requirements.

Geographically, eligible applicants may come from EU member states and potentially from third countries, assuming they can meet the service obligations. The target sector is ICT, specifically telecommunications.

The tender documents are comprehensive and include various essential components such as the invitation to tender, tender specifications, terms of reference, and a financial proposal form, among others. These documents provide full details on the submission process and requirements for participation. Interested parties must ensure their proposals meet the selection criteria and adhere to the application guidelines, which mandate the use of the electronic submission system that supports the latest versions of Google Chrome and Mozilla Firefox.

In preparation for their tender, applicants are advised to consider specific instructions regarding service activation, data handling, and the potential transfer of existing numbers to new SIM cards without service interruption. Moreover, specific conditions and service expectations, including tariff options and helpdesk requirements, are clearly outlined in the tender documents.

In summary, this tender seeks established providers able to deliver comprehensive mobile communication solutions and invites a broad range of eligible companies to participate in the submission process while emphasizing the importance of compliance with the outlined selection criteria and service specifications.

The European Border and Coast Guard Agency (FRONTEX) is launching an invitation to tender FRONTEX/2025/OP/0010 for the provision of mobile telephony services. This is an open procedure with electronic submission. The deadline for receipt of tenders is 30/05/2025 at 12:00 Europe/Warsaw time. The contracting authority is not bound to reply to questions submitted after 22/05/2025 05:00 Europe/Warsaw. The date and time of public opening is 02/06/2025 12:00 Europe/Warsaw. The estimated total value is 14,000,000 EUR. The maximum contract duration is 48 months. The award method is best price-quality ratio, and it is a framework agreement without reopening of competition.

The subject of the contract is the provision of mobile telephony services for Frontex staff members and additional selected personnel, needed for day-to-day operations. The requested services shall comprise of:

1. Provision of SIM cards with subscription plans for mobile voice, text and data services at geographically dispersed locations in the EU MSs and in other countries outside the EU.
2. Provision of solution for mobile services usage control, including the management of data and voice plans, configuration of services on specific sim cards and globally on the whole account, billing system and costs control tools.
3. Provision of professional helpdesk that provides troubleshooting to incident notifications and service support operating on 24/7 basis.

Selection criteria include suitability to pursue the professional activity, economic and financial standing, and technical and professional ability. Please consult the procurement documents for details.

The tender documents include: Invitation to tender, Tender specifications, Terms of Reference, Appendix 1 to Annex II Terms of Reference, Draft contract, Declaration on honour, Tender Submission Form, PoA Commitment Letter, Financial Proposal Form, and Declaration of Confidentiality.

When preparing your tender, please consider new versions of Annexes II, III and VIII, amended in line with the published Q&A.

The eSubmission system supports the latest versions of Google Chrome or Mozilla Firefox. Attachments should be less than 50 MB in size. The maximum number of documents the system will allow you to upload per tender is 200 files. A Personal Identification Code (PIC) is mandatory to participate. The system is multilingual and supports all 24 official EU languages. The character set encoding is UTF-8. The system encrypts all uploaded documents, using an asymmetric key as an encryption mechanism. Submissions in the draft status can be edited, viewed and deleted until the deadline.

Some questions and answers related to the tender include:

Activation of the services on new SIM cards with allocated numbers shall be executed without any interruption of the services on each SIM card. If not possible, the expected interruption time should be specified.

The only personal data available for the contractor will be the name and surname of the Authorising Officer signing the contract and the name, surname, phone number and e-mail address of contact persons from Frontex.

The current contract expires on 20/07/2025 while services are to be provided after its expiry. The transfer of existing numbers to new SIM cards (if applicable) shall be arranged and executed without any interruption of the services.

In Annex VIII Financial Proposal Form, in the "Voice and Data Tariffs" tab (option II), the Contracting Authority understands "Voice services: Unlimited voice services in Poland and zone I" and "Data services: Data volume of at least 30 GB in Poland and zone I".

Frontex confirms that all services which are not covered by the offer will be billed in accordance with the price list of telecommunications services.

If the reason for suspension of the performance of the contract were irregularities, fraud or breach of obligations, there is automatic right of extension of the duration of the contract.

While completing the Financial Proposal Form (Annex VIII) the Tenderer shall take in account below points: In tab “Voice and data tariffs” only one tariff option should be chosen by the Tenderer.

The Contracting Authority agrees to amend point II.6.3. of Annex III Draft Contract so it sounds as follows: “The contractor is liable for any loss or damage caused to the contracting authority during the performance of the contract, including in the event of culpable conduct.”

During first months of FWC implementation, Frontex intends to order around 5500 SIM cards: 4700 as a transfer of existing numbers to new SIM cards and 800 of additional new SIM cards.

The redirected incoming calls shall go directly to the recipient's number.

In the Annex VIII Financial Proposal Form, under Zone definitions tab, for Zone I "All EU Member States, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway" shall be indicated (without UK).

According to 2.3.3 (b) of Annex II ToR, any SMS notifications regarding account status, potential abuse or other essential information must be provided in English.

In line with 2.5 of Annex II ToR, the Contractor must provide professional helpdesk for troubleshooting and comprehensive solutions to technical issues and incidents in the context of the provided services.

In principle, documentary evidence in support of this declaration must have been issued no more than one year before the date of their request by the contracting authority and must still be valid.

The Contracting Authority accepts such proposal to be informed about the need of delivery of SIM cards with at least 14 days in advance.

Frontex requires call forwarding service defined as forwarding incoming calls to any mobile foreign number chosen by the user.

This tender is for the provision of mobile telephony services to Frontex staff and selected personnel. It involves providing SIM cards, managing mobile service usage, and offering 24/7 helpdesk support. The tender is open to all eligible economic operators who can meet the requirements outlined in the tender documents. The successful tenderer will enter into a framework agreement with Frontex for a maximum duration of 48 months. The tender evaluation will be based on the best price-quality ratio.

Eligible Applicant Types: The opportunity is open to any entity that can provide mobile telephony services. The selection criteria mention the need for applicants to demonstrate suitability to pursue the professional activity, economic and financial standing, and technical and professional ability, suggesting that the opportunity is geared towards established businesses or consortia with relevant experience and resources. Therefore, eligible applicant types include, but are not limited to, telecommunications operators, service providers, large enterprises, SMEs, and potentially consortia thereof.

Funding Type: The funding type is procurement, specifically a framework agreement for services. The award method is based on the best price-quality ratio.

Consortium Requirement: The opportunity does not explicitly state whether a consortium is required or if a single applicant is sufficient. However, given the scale and scope of the required services, it is possible that a consortium of multiple applicants may be better positioned to meet all the requirements. The tender documents should be consulted for explicit guidance on this matter.

Beneficiary Scope (Geographic Eligibility): The geographic eligibility for applicants is broad, as the services are to be provided at geographically dispersed locations in the EU Member States and in other countries outside the EU. This suggests that applicants from the EU and potentially from third countries are eligible, provided they can meet the service requirements in the specified locations.

Target Sector: The target sector is ICT, specifically telecommunications. The call focuses on mobile telephony services, including SIM cards, subscription plans, mobile service usage control solutions, billing systems, cost control tools, and professional helpdesk support.

Mentioned Countries: The opportunity mentions Poland as the location for the date and time of the public opening (Europe/Warsaw time). Zone I includes All EU Member States, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway. The UK is explicitly excluded from Zone I.

Project Stage: The project stage is commercialization or service provision. The tender seeks established providers capable of delivering ongoing mobile telephony services, rather than supporting research, development, or validation of new technologies.

Funding Amount: The estimated total value of the framework agreement is 14,000,000 EUR. This suggests that the overall contract value over its duration (48 months) is expected to be in this range.

Application Type: The application type is an open call for tenders, with electronic submission required.

Nature of Support: The beneficiaries will receive money in exchange for services.

Application Stages: The number of application stages is not explicitly stated, but it is likely a multi-stage process involving assessment of suitability, economic and financial standing, technical and professional ability, and the quality and price of the proposed services.

Success Rates: The success rates are not mentioned in the provided text.

Co-funding Requirement: The co-funding requirement is not explicitly mentioned.

Summary: This is a call for tenders issued by the European Border and Coast Guard Agency (FRONTEX) for the provision of mobile telephony services. The contract aims to secure a framework agreement with a service provider or a consortium of providers capable of delivering comprehensive mobile communication solutions for Frontex staff and selected personnel. The services include providing SIM cards with subscription plans for voice, text, and data services across the EU and other countries, offering mobile service usage control solutions, and maintaining a 24/7 professional helpdesk. The estimated total value of the contract is 14,000,000 EUR over a maximum duration of 48 months. The award will be based on the best price-quality ratio. The deadline for submitting tenders is May 30, 2025. Interested parties must submit their applications electronically and ensure they meet the specified selection criteria related to professional suitability, economic and financial standing, and technical capabilities. The tender documents, including annexes and terms of reference, provide detailed information on the requirements and submission process.