Communications Equipment

HMRC refreshed all Airwave radio equipment used by RIS and FIS operational officers in order to comply with the encryption standard in line with all other UK Law Enforcement Agencies. As part of the refresh, a contract was set up with Sepura, the manufacturer of the radios and the ancillary equipment. This contract expires in December 2022. Originally the new Airwave radio equipment was only to last for a short period of time until new technology known as the Emergency Services Network (ESN) replaced it between 2022 and 2023. ESN being smartphone based is an entirely new technology. The Home Office have recently advised that the ESN timeline has slipped and it is now looking like 2026 soonest, before user organisations in the covert arena will migrate. To that end it is now necessary to extend arrangements with Sepura in order to ensure that HMRC are able to continue to buy spare parts, additional ancillaries and accessories.