Cable & Wireless wins £82m Foreign Office network deal

Embassies and consulates get connected and taxpayer saves £90m

Cable & Wireless has signed an £82m, five-and-a-half year global telecoms framework contract with the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO).

Services offered under the framework consist of a global network and suite of IP voice and data services, including managed videoconferencing, unified communications, security, mobility and cloud-based application services.

Under the contract with the FCO, C&W will provide managed telecoms services to the more than 150 countries where the FCO has a network of more than 200 embassies, high commissions and consulates.

C&W said the contract will save the taxpayer £90m - helping the FCO drive value for money through the reuse of existing C&W Worldwide shared services, as well as by enabling its staff to share information and operate more efficiently. Use of videoconferencing will also help to reduce flight emissions and travel costs at the FCO, according to C&W.

In related news, C&W Worldwide has appointed Brian Woodford as MD of its Public Sector & Partners division. Woodford joins C&W Worldwide from Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) where he led TCS' government and public sector business over the past four years.

The Foreign and Commonwealth Office in London
(Photo credit: Foreign and Commonwealth Office via Flickr.com under the following Creative Commons licence)