BT wins £530mn NHS broadband supply contract

Posted on 19 Feb 2004 at 17:30

BT is to hook up all 18,000 NHS sites to broadband, for sending X-Rays, test results and NHS voice calls.

The company has been awarded the contract to build the New National Network, or N3, worth £530mn over seven years. It makes the NHS the first major user in the public sector to take advantage of the Government's bulk-buying broadband initiatives.

A typical surgery would get the 512Kbits/sec connection while a hospital would benefit from bandwidths up to 10Mbits/bits.

Health Minister John Hutton, said: 'The New National Network will play a crucial role in the day-to-day business of the NHS, which currently exchanges millions of items of electronic data every day. For NHS doctors, it will mean they can be confident that key patient data will be available securely and reliably at the touch of a button.

'The National Programme for IT is a key part of reform of the NHS. It will help make the NHS a truly responsive service, which provides patients with more choice. The network will underpin key parts of the National Programme including electronic booking and the NHS Care Records Service.'

Richard Granger, Director General of NHS IT said that the BT deal wasn't strictly for BT to supply all the broadband lines itself but rather act as an 'integrator', buying broadband from the best on a list of approved local and national companies. The deal is expected to save the NHS in the region of £900mn over seven years compared to buying the services through the NHS's existing contracts.

The network will allow voice, video and data transmissions, so that anything from X-Rays to test results, prescriptions and payment records can be sent in seconds. Additionally, NHS voice calls will be routed through the system, saving on the department's phone bill.

The network uses 'industry standard' security measures, and additional safety precautions will be built in to protect the NHS Care Records Service from being breached. Technologies will be put in place to route traffic around fault areas and backup connections will also be on hand to keep the network up and running.

It will also hook up the most remote practices to essential services and make outlying areas that much more viable for a broadband upgrade.

UK E-commerce Minister Stephen Timms said: 'Areas previously considered too remote and uneconomic for broadband will particularly benefit. Investments by the broadband supply industry, to meet public sector needs will provide infrastructure, which is also available to businesses, industry and residential customers and will underpin the productivity benefits that a fully Broadband Britain will bring.'

Author: Matt Whipp