BT wins £99m MoD comms deal

BT on Thursday announced a five-year, £99m contract with the Ministry of Defence (MoD) to manage voice and data networks across 197 military bases.

The deal broadens the Defence Fixed Telecommunications Service (DFTS) agreement, under which BT is building and managing a co-ordinated communicated infrastructure for the Army, Royal Navy and RAF.

The new service extends the DFTS communications infrastructure, and includes a systems-management service, said BT.

BT said the new deal will enable it to standardise services and make them easier to manage, allowing the MoD to better plan events such as relocations and upgrades. The service will also provide better management information, said BT.

"The commencement of this service for defence represents a logical and significant step forward in the continuing modernisation and rationalisation of the fixed communication network infrastructure which began in 1997," said Darrell Midgley, head of the MOD's Defence Equipment and Supports Networks team, in a statement.

The new service is to begin on 1 October, and will be built with engineering company NG Bailey, said BT. Bailey Teswaine, NG Bailey's network infrastructure division, will support BT to deliver the services network infrastructure division.

In 2005, as part of the DFTS,  BT announced a partnership with Nortel to provide managed IP services to the MoD, designed to improve security around emerging VoIP technology.

The aim of the original DFTS project was to unite the disparate communications networks of the armed forces, which previously had distinct systems that did not interoperate effectively.