Ericsson & Metropolitan police sign £75 m telephone service outsourcing agreement

Ericsson and Metropolitan police sign £75 m telephone service outsourcing agreement Ericsson Ltd. and London's Metropolitan Police Service have signed an outsourcing agreement, worth an estimated £75 million (SEK 990 million), for Ericsson Business Consulting to provide and support all telephone services for the Metropolitan Police. Under the terms of the agreement, which will initially run for five years, Ericsson will manage and support all existing telecoms systems including fixed and mobile telephony, faxes, pagers, voicemail, network services and supply additional telecoms services as and when required. Although the Metropolitan Police use a variety of manufacturers' equipment, including Ericsson's MD110 PBX based telephone systems, the agreement was awarded under open competition using European procurement procedures. The agreement, which provides for the initial five-year period to be extended for a further three or more years, is in line with the Service's policy of outsourcing the provision of technology services wherever appropriate. "Outsourcing allows us to concentrate resources on our core business, which is to provide first-class community policing for the citizens of London," says Derek Hubbard, Head of Communications, Department of Technology at the Metropolitan Police. "By signing this agreement with Ericsson we have formed a relationship with a prime player in the business telephony arena and expect to make material savings in communications support costs. We will also have direct access to a comprehensive source of the most up-to-date telecoms expertise in the years ahead." Ericsson will be responsible for the provision and support of all telephony equipment and services for the Metropolitan Police Service. This will include setting up the telecoms services for new incident rooms, as required by police officers, and supporting the Service's 3,000 mobile telephones, 6,000 pagers, 30,000 extensions and numerous call centers across 265 sites. Ericsson is the leading provider in the new telecoms world, with communications solutions that combine telecom and datacom technologies with freedom of mobility for the user. With more than 100,000 employees in 140 countries, Ericsson simplifies communications for its customers - network operators, service providers, enterprises and consumers - the world over. Please visit Ericsson's Press Room at: http://www.ericsson.se/pressroom FOR FURTHER INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT Paula Wagstaff, Media Relations Director, Ericsson Ltd. Tel: +44 1444 234354 Per Zetterquist, Communications Director, Enterprise Solutions Tel: +46 8 422 2424, E-mail: per.zetterquist@lme.ericsson.se Steve Boulcott, Metropolitan Police Service, Dept. of Technology. Tel: +44 171 230 9146