Prisoner Telephony Services – Bridging Agreement

This direct award procurement is a concession contract to continue the existing prisoner telephony service (‘PTS’) for the prisons in England and Wales which are run by HM Prison and Probation Service.

The PTS is currently provided by British Telecommunications Limited (company number 01800000) (‘BT’) and has been for several years. The ability for prisoners to maintain relationships with family and friends is critical as it contributes to prisoners’ wellbeing, order and discipline, rehabilitation, and a reduction in the likelihood of reoffending. The main communication channel in use currently is voice telephone calls via the PTS. PTS is a critical service which allows prisoners to make phone calls to approved contact numbers using a unique personal identification number (PIN). The PTS scope includes use of in-cell phones, wing phones, mobile PIN phones and staff to cell phones.

This direct award, known as the Bridging Agreement, will bridge the period between 1 June 2027 (the current contract expires on 31 May 2027) up to 30 November 2031, which is the period required to enable governing, procuring, mobilising, testing and transitioning to the replacement next generation communications service called the Prisoner Integrated Communications Service (PICS). Under the Bridging Agreement, BT will continue to provide the PTS on substantially the same terms as the current PTS contract together with exit services to transition to PICS. PTS is procured as a concession contract as it is predominately funded from the income generated by prisoners who purchase phone credit from BT.

KPIs have been included in the contract but details are not included in this notice as these KPIs are not required under section 52 and 71 due to this being a concession contract.

Plans for PICS are proceeding through the appropriate governance, and MOJ anticipates procurements for replacement services to commence from June 2027, via relevant framework agreements such as RM6377 Network Services 4 and the Technology Products & Associated Services (TePAS 2 or TePAS 3 – depending on timing approved in governance) operated by the Government Commercial Agency (GCA). Prospective suppliers are encouraged to engage with GCA (gca.gov.uk) and/or on-framework suppliers to participate in framework opportunities.

To obtain information from the preliminary market engagement which has occurred already and to register for updates for PICS, please contact vvn.cmo@justice.gov.uk

Note: With effect on 25 June 2026, BT registered a change at Companies House to reflect its re-registration from a plc. Whilst the company’s name has changed, the legal entity remains the same with the same company number.