Racal picks up UK Foreign Office messaging deal

NEWS The UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) has awarded a £100m contract for managed voice and messaging communications to Racal Telecom. The ten year deal will see Racal implement its Global Telecommunications Project (GTP). The aim of the project is to link all UK diplomatic missions around the world. John Edwards, project director at Racal, said: "This arrangement, which is essentially an outsourcing contract, will provide a massive upgrade in terms of the FCO's messaging capability." Racal will use 24-hour helpdesks and a network management centre to improve levels of support and adhere to service level agreements. The FCO is working on its own automation service - dubbed Firecrest, and based on Compaq hardware and software from Microsoft - and is also handling its own security needs. However, the Racal agreement is part of a strategy of farming out non-core functions. Hewlett-Packard, which partners Racal on a number of corporate contracts, will supply messaging equipment and support, while Siemens, which will be tapped for switches and PBX equipment, was chosen for "its truly global reach", said Edwards. Sita, which is perhaps better known as the company that spawned aggressive next-generation telco Equant, will provide the international voice and data network. Last month, Racal won a £16m contract from the Royal Air Force to supply managed messaging and directory services at 70 sites around the world.