Press release
Inverclyde Council saves for the future with advanced £3m
network
- Fibre network and VoIP technology
delivers significant cost savings, as well as a scalable platform
for the future
- Resilient and reliable Ethernet VPN
offers high-bandwidth, secure access for over 5,000
staff
- Council to realise a return on their
investment within 3 years
8 November, 2007. Inverclyde Council has
successfully implemented a cutting edge £3m ntl:Telewest Business
Ethernet VPN network, which is set to fulfil all of their
communication and data needs for the next five years. This has
resulted in reduced running and billing costs and will ensure
security and stability for Inverclyde Council’s 5,000 staff.
The Ethernet VPN fibre network is now more
robust and reliable than the old legacy system and is a foundation
to serve the future modernisation and efficiency agenda of the
council. According to the Gershon report, the overriding priority
for all councils is to “make better use of the public’s money.” As
such, the Ethernet VPN network ensures that the council can utilise
technology as well as staff expertise to enhance services for both
internal and external customers, while saving resources.
The new network will mean the council benefits
from significant cost savings through Voice over IP (VoIP)
technologies, facilitating free internal calls on the network.
Billing procedures have also been significantly rationalised
freeing up council time to deal with what really matters, the
estimated 82,000 citizens it is responsible for.
Gordon McLoughlin, Head of ICT & Business
Transformation, Inverclyde Council, said of the project: “The
network is absolutely the foundation on which Inverclyde Council
will grow its technical strategy. We now have the flexibility to
provide scaleable bandwidth to all of our Council and Schools
buildings within Inverclyde, and ensure that our citizens benefit
from this investment. Convergence has just started and once fully
deployed, savings will be made thanks to applications such as VoIP.
We expect to reduce our revenue payments by £120,000 a year, every
year for the next 5 years. However, it is the core network and the
partnership that is vital for us at the moment.”
“With this new network Inverclyde Council has
raised the bar in terms of 21st Century communications,”
said Christopher Small, Director for Public Sector, ntl:Telewest
Business. “The cost savings were an obvious driver, but it is the
flexibility and resilience of the system that will stand the test
of time and really benefit the staff and citizens of
Inverclyde.”
The Ethernet VPN service delivers 10mbp/s
bandwidth to each council building, with connections to their core
site delivered as Gigabit Services. Each of the 100 corporate and
education sites directly connected to the ntl:Telewest Business
network can be increased to 100mb remotely, without the need for
any equipment changes or the need to send out an engineer.
The council’s key aim is to make Inverclyde
one of the best performing local economies in the United Kingdom
and an attractive, healthy and safe place in which to live, work
and play. To achieve this, it works collaboratively with the
business and residential community as well as external agencies,
basing its approach on customer satisfaction, openness, innovation
and value for money. As such, the new communications network
epitomises the spirit of Inverclyde Council.
About ntl:Telewest Business
ntl:Telewest Business, part of the UK’s second
largest fixed-line telecommunications company, is a leading
communications provider to businesses, public sector organisations
and service providers in the UK. It delivers a complete portfolio
of voice, data and internet solutions nation-wide.
ntl:Telewest Business sales and support
teams are located across the UK, in close proximity to our
customers, as part of a commitment to deliver superior customer
service.
ntl:Telewest Business delivers services over
the Group’s £13bn investment in its state-of-the-art
infrastructure giving business customers access to the largest
alternative network in the UK.
ntl:Telewest Business is trusted to provide
critical communications to high profile customers
including: Heathrow's Terminal 5, Birmingham City Council and
Cambridgeshire County Council.
Sara Doggett
T: 01256 753101
E: sara.doggett@virginmedia.co.uk
Chris Measures/Rupert Walker
ntl:Telewest Business
Rainier PR
T: 020 7494 6570
E: cmeasures@rainierpr.co.uk