Bedfordshire, Essex Council Networks Link Under Public Services Network

Central Bedfordshire Council will link its IT infrastructure to that of Essex County Council under a new contract awarded under the government’s Public Services Network (PSN).

Daisy Updata Communications Ltd (DUCL) is to manage and develop Central Bedfordshire Council’s IT network infrastructure under a nine-year contract announced last week. As part of the arrangement, the council will join Essex County Council’s Next Generation Network (NGN), already managed by DUCL under a 10-year PSN contract awarded in 2012.

Wide-area networking

NGN provides IT network infrastructure and telephony services to 200,000 users across Essex, and the arrangement will give Bedfordshire access to the same services.

DUCL is to manage a wide-area network connecting more than 183 council-owned sites and schools across Central Bedfordshire, according to the company.

The group, a joint venture between Updata Infrastructure, part of Capita IT Services, and unified communications services provider Daisy Group, already provides network management services to Central Bedfordshire Council.

“By joining up with the Essex NGN, we become part of a PSN-ready network and have access to a range of other IT services,” said Councillor Richard Wenham, deputy executive member for corporate resources at Central Bedfordshire Council, in a statement.

Competitive procurement

DUCL won a comparable six-year contract for the Kent Public Service Network (KPSN) last month.

PSN was established in 2012 as part of a government strategy to introduce more cost-effective public services, and is intended to offer a competitive marketplace for public services procurement.

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