NEXT GENERATION (FIXED) COMMUNICATION NETWORK

Rating: Compared to financial year 24/25 Q4, the NISTA/SRO Delivery Confidence Assessment (DCA) rating at 25/26 Q4 decreased to Red. This is primarily due to the following factors, an independent assurance review conducted in March 2026 rated the Programme as red due to the scheduled forecast at time of review reporting completion beyond the allocated funding to the Programme. Baseline reviews by the programme to revaluate and refine the delivery plans were ongoing at the time of the assurance review. An improved schedule has now been developed and will be assessed by the Review Team when they return to reassess progress performance in Q1 26/27 where an improvement to delivery confidence is anticipated.

Schedule: Compared to financial year 24/25-Q4, the programme's end-date at 25/26-Q4 decreased from 11/12/2030 to 30/08/2030. This is primarily due to the following factors. 1. Changes to the Programme approach to two key programmes on the critical path which has matured to remove some dependencies to enable greater concurrency of activity. 2. The programme schedule has matured with clear end states defined and success criteria to monitor the performance of the delivery being developed. 3. The delivery schedule is governed through monthly programme boards, quarterly Programme Boards and quarterly senior Defence reviews.

Cost: Exempt under Section 43 - Commercial interests

Source: NISTA Major Projects Annual Report 2025-26 (data)

Rating: Compared to financial year 23/24-Q4, the Delivery Confidence Assessment rating at 24/25-Q4 increased from RED to AMBER. This is primarily due to the following factors. The programme was reset with the issuance of a new mandate in March 2024. An independent Assurance Review in June 2024 assessed Delivery Confidence as Amber noting that significant progress had been made. An updated Outline Business Case was approved in October 2024 and the programme is now preparing for market engagement. A Delivery Partner was onboarded in February 2025 to support delivery.

Schedule: Compared to financial year 23/24-Q4, the project's end-date at 24/25-Q4 remained at 11/12/2030. This is primarily due to the following factors. [text ends here in the published file]

Cost: Section 43 - Commercial interests

Source: NISTA Annual Report 2024-25 (data)

Rating: Compared to financial year 22/23-Q4, the Infrastructure Project Authority's Delivery Confidence Assessment rating at 23/24-Q4 decreased from Amber to Red. This is primarily due to the following factors. The risk, complexity and cost to migrating existing services are greater than previously anticipated. A new schedule to time and cost is currently awaiting approval. Once approved the programme can proceed with market engagement. Due to sector wide shortages in highly skilled areas recruitment continues to threaten the delivery schedule.

Schedule: Compared to financial year 22/23-Q4, the project's end-date at 23/24-Q4 remained on schedule to finish on 2030-12-11. This primarily due to the following factors. The programme schedule has been revised to take into account further understanding of the complexity of transitioning to new services without compromising current capability. This has not impacted the overall schedule.

Cost: Exempt under Section 43 of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (Commercial Interests) - Commercial interests.

Source: IPA Annual Report 2023-24 (data)