Press release
Luton Borough Council sets sights on total WAN
connectivity with ntl:Telewest Business
- Luton Borough Council staff enjoy the security and scalability
of next generation network
- Students benefit from fast, reliable broadband access
- Ethernet VPN provides remote workers with secure access
26 October 2006. ntl:Telewest Business, the
supplier of communications services to the public and private
sectors, today announced that Luton Borough Council (LBC) has
successfully implemented a Wide Area Network (WAN) between the
Council’s Town Centre buildings, local schools and other council
properties. Now remote Council offices can experience the benefits
of secure broadband access to LBC’s network, while schools and
students have fast reliable broadband access to the Luton Learning
Grid.
This Ethernet-based virtual private network provided by
ntl:Telewest Business represents a step-change in the in provision
of effective data communication links throughout the Borough. The
solution has enabled the Council to migrate small sites away from
legacy technologies which were difficult to administer, had limited
scalability and were expensive to maintain.
The implementation was seen as a necessary advancement following
government targets set for Local Education Authorities (LEAs). Now
all 80 + schools across Luton are connected to the Luton Learning
Grid, meaning that not only can students take advantage of 2Mbps
bandwidth (10mbps for High Schools), but also teachers can
collaborate with colleagues across multiple sites using
technologies such as Video-Conferencing.
As the Council’s requirements increase the solution provides
full scalability with further ‘bandwidth on tap’ at speeds of
up to 100Mb with low implementation costs.
The solution connects the Corporate Local Authority via a
virtual private local area network (VLAN), allowing employees to
work remotely and enjoy all the benefits that remote access allows
over a completely secure network. This same network is saving the
council money by providing synergies across multiple agencies. This
is well positioned to grow with the needs of the council, as the
solution is future proof.
Tim Jeffs, Network and Communications Manager at the Luton
Borough Council said: “The government targets were a great spur to
improve the communication abilities of both our school and council
buildings. The advantages of the system were made abundantly clear
in the ntl: Telewest Business proposal and have been realised since
the system went live. We now have a highly efficient broadband
network across the Borough supporting effective communication
within the Council as well as delivering high-speed Internet access
to Luton schools. We are extremely impressed with this swift and
efficient migration. ntl:Telewest Business were the natural choice
because we knew that the high service levels and support from their
project management teams would ensure a painless install.”
Christopher Small, Director for Public Sector, ntl:Telewest
Business said: “We have a successful history of network creation in
the Luton area and I am delighted to add Luton Borough Council to
that role call. The government targets for LEAs have been a
catalyst for improved education connectivity across the country,
but it is great to see councils like Luton going the extra mile and
installing a future-proof scalable network that surpasses the
demands of central government.”
This project is yet another example of collaboration between
ntl:Telewest Business and the greater Luton area, first
demonstrated at Bedfordshire and Luton NHS Trust.
About ntl:Telewest Business
ntl:Telewest Business, part of the UK’s second
largest fixed-line telecommunications company, is a leading
communications provider to businesses, public sector organisations
and service providers in the UK. It delivers a complete portfolio
of voice, data and internet solutions nation-wide.
ntl:Telewest Business sales and support
teams are located across the UK, in close proximity to our
customers, as part of a commitment to deliver superior customer
service.
ntl:Telewest Business delivers services over
the Group’s £13bn investment in its state-of-the-art
infrastructure giving business customers access to the largest
alternative network in the UK.
ntl:Telewest Business is trusted to provide
critical communications to high profile customers
including: Heathrow's Terminal 5, Birmingham City Council
and Cambridgeshire County Council.
For more information please contact:
Rebecca Tyrer
PR and Analyst Relations Manager
ntl:Telewest Business
T: 01483 582335
E: rebecca.tyrer@ntl.com
Zuzanna Pasierbinska,
Press Office
Rainier PR
T: 020 7494 6575
E: zpasierbinska@rainierpr.co.uk