Essex County Council targets £1.2m savings with network deal

17.03.2012
Essex County Council hopes to save £1.2 million a year with a framework agreement for next generation network (NGN) services that will also be available to other public sector bodies in the East of England.

The range of services that the council is extensive. It includes, but is not limited to, communication services, broadband, conferencing, contact centre services, wireless, video, mobile voice and data services, LAN and gateway services.

Computerworld UK contacted Essex County Council to find out the value of the 10-year contract, and was informed it could reach up to £300 million over the lifetime of the contract.

However, a prior information notice for the agreement went out , which indicated that the value of the agreement could reach up to £360 million, including VAT.

The council expects the new network to enable it to save £1.2 million a year over the lifetime of the agreement, regardless of whether or not other public sector bodies participate.

An Essex County Council spokesperson said: "A number of contracts (for issues like telephones, mobiles, internet, network support and so on) are coming to an end in the next 12-18 months. We are looking to do this as one contract rather than a number of smaller ones."