[June 25, 2009] ntl:Telewest Business: Inverclyde Council deploys IP telephony to offer flexible working practices across more than 100 sites Jun 25, 2009 (M2 PRESSWIRE via COMTEX) -- Council buildings, schools, leisure centres and social workers connected with scalable IP telephony solution Flexible platform transforms the council's interaction with citizens Communications project paves the way for a new contact centre and enables staff to work remotely as needed Inverclyde Council has successfully deployed the first phase of an IP Telephony platform across all of its sites with ntl:Telewest Business, part of the Virgin Media group. Once completed, the new system, which has been rolled out to the area's schools, nurseries, leisure centres, council administration buildings and social workers, will improve communication between the council's 5,000 staff and its citizens. It will also provide members of staff with the flexibility to work from any of the council's offices. The IP Telephony project is part of Inverclyde Council's major ICT modernisation programme and builds on the capabilities of the high-speed Ethernet Virtual Private Network (VPN) implemented by ntl:Telewest Business in 2007. The network provides the council with a reliable and durable communications infrastructure on which it can roll-out the latest technologies. All internal switches on the Local Area Network (LAN) have been upgraded to support the new IP Telephony system. The flexible telephony system will enable Inverclyde Council to launch a new IP contact centre, giving staff swift and secure access to information held centrally, enabling them to deliver a consistent level of customer service to the area's 82,000 residents. "Following the upgrade of Inverclyde Council's Wide Area Network (WAN) and LAN, our ICT infrastructure is now ranked as one of the best amongst local authorities," said Allan McDonald, Support Team Leader, ICT & Business Transformation at Inverclyde Council. "The IP Telephony project is grounded in the network's reliability and stability. It will significantly upgrade the way in which we can communicate with our citizens. Once the council has its single contact number in place, it will be far easier for the community to get in touch with us and efficiency will be significantly improved. Due to our longstanding partnership with ntl:Telewest Business, we completely trusted the team to deliver a high quality solution that met all of our needs." "In the current economic climate, local authorities need to drive greater operational efficiency. Technology has a key role to play in improving efficiency, productivity and service to local communities," said Martin Smith-Campbell, Public Sector Sales Manager at ntl:Telewest Business. "The IP Telephony platform strengthens Inverclyde Council's 21st Century communications system and it will benefit both the staff and Inverclyde community." About ntl:Telewest Business ntl:Telewest Business has the most technically advanced of the UK's two national networks. Its vast nation-wide Next Generation Network provides businesses, public sector organisations and service providers across the UK with a complete portfolio of advanced data, internet and voice services. The GBP13billion network is flexible, scaleable and is already built out to more than 38,000 street cabinets across the UK. As part of a commitment to deliver superior customer service, ntl:Telewest Business sales and support teams are located in close proximity to its customers in over 40 centres across the UK. ntl:Telewest Business is trusted to provide critical communications to high profile customers including: Birmingham City Council, Yorkshire Water and EasyJet. CONTACT: Lucy Wimmer, Speed e-mail: Lucy.Wimmer@speedcommunications.com Tel: +44 (0)20 7842 3267 Tel: +44 (0)7919 534 367 WWW: http://www.speedcommunications.com ((M2 Communications disclaims all liability for information provided within M2 PressWIRE. Data supplied by named party/parties. Further information on M2 PressWIRE can be obtained at http://www.presswire.net on the world wide web. Inquiries to info@m2.com. [ Back To the Online Project Management Community's Homepage ]