Further Education Network Connectivity and Cyber Security Services (FENCCSS)

Contract to provide Connectivity, Cyber Security and Specialist Advisory Services to the Further Education sector in England.

Overview of services required

DfE is proposing to contract with Jisc to deliver a comprehensive digital infrastructure and support service for the Further Education (FE) sector in England via the Janet Network. The Janet Network is the UK’s sole National Research and Education Network (NREN) linking up to the Gigabit European Academic Network (GÉANT), the pan-European data network for the research and education community. The tertiary education sector including FE relies on the Janet Network for IT connectivity and cyber security (CS) (please also see “Direct award justification” below).

The digital infrastructure and support services for the FE sector will encompass robust connectivity, sector-wide cyber security, and strategic ICT guidance.

1. Connectivity

• Private WAN: Secure, resilient, symmetrical network connecting all In-Scope Institutions.

• Dual Connections: Each institution to benefit from a second connection for improved resilience.

• Performance Standards: High bandwidth (800Gb/s), high speed (1Gb/s), low latency (1–5ms), minimal packet loss and jitter.

• Scalability & Upgrades: Network must scale with demand and support upgrades via separate contracts.

• Interoperability: Direct access to global NRENs, GEANT, cloud platforms, and peering with relevant public and private networks.

• Managed Services: Includes router management, DNS, IP address registry, network monitoring, maintenance (including hardware refresh) and support.

• Network security: threat-driven, risk-based approach to implementing physical and virtual security measures to pre-empt and respond to emerging threats.

2. Cyber Security (please also see “Direct award justification” below)

• Sector-Wide Scope: Services extend beyond the network to cover the entire UK tertiary education sector.

• Threat Detection: Uses UK tertiary education-specific data to identify vulnerabilities and sector-unique threats.

• CSIRT: A 24/7/365 incident response team offering expert support and coordinating multi-institutional responses.

• Intelligence Sharing: Disseminates threat insights across the sector to improve collective resilience.

• Government Integration: Collaborates with NCSC and other agencies; reports major incidents within 1–2 hours.

• Quarterly Reporting: Includes incident summaries, trends, and recommendations for improvement.

3. Strategic Advice and Guidance (SAAG)

• Proactive Sector-Wide Guidance: Free advice on ICT use in FE, covering (but not restricted to) curriculum, cyber security, cloud, AI, mergers, Ofsted improvement, and emerging technologies.

• Bespoke Support: Customised advice available under separate contracts.

• Named Relationship Managers: Each institution has a dedicated contact for ICT queries and access to SAAG.

• Multi-Channel Delivery: Guidance provided via blogs, webinars, training, case studies, and more.

• Performance & Reporting: Must meet service standards and be reported quarterly to the Buyer.

Unique Requirements

The proposed services reflect the unique requirements of the FE sector (please also see “Direct award justification” below), combining:

• National-level infrastructure and cyber resilience,

• Sector-specific intelligence and threat response, and

• Strategic ICT leadership and policy support.