The current notice also outlines that some of the services will require Public Services Network (PSN) compliance, while others at a lower security level will not.

Essex is planning to use services provisioned through the network to create a PSN infrastructure, which it says will "allow seamless and secure connectivity to other public sector organisations within Essex and the wider public sector".

The PSN is core to the government's ICT Strategy with the Cabinet Office estimating it could save up to £130 million a year in central government by 2014. In three years' time the government wants 80 percent of its PC-based staff (four million users) to be using the network.

In 2009 Essex County Council was after it terminated a four-year IT support and networks deal with BT only six months into the contract. BT threatened legal action, claiming that the contract had been terminated unlawfully, but the council defended its decision by arguing that it had not been delivering value for money.

More recently, Essex County Council plans to install a new network to support mobile and flexible working among its employees. It suggested that by boosting network capability to support unified communication tools, such as instant messaging and video-conferencing, council staff would be able to easily move between different sites.