Global Crossing Named Forestry Commission's Preferred Supplier for Managed IP Solutions
14 June 2005
London -- June 14, 2005 -- Global Crossing (NASDAQ: GLBC) announced today it has been awarded preferred supplier status for telecommunications services by the Forestry Commission. The agreement is estimated to be worth at least $24.5 million over seven years.
The Forestry Commission is the government department responsible for forestry policy throughout Great Britain. Its board of commissioners, whose duties and powers are prescribed by statute, consists of a chairman and up to ten other commissioners, including a director general. All are appointed by the Queen on the recommendation of ministers of the UK government.
"This significant contract is testimony to Global Crossing's deep understanding of and commitment to the government sector, an expertise we have developed over the last 15 years," said John Legere, Global Crossing's chief executive officer. "Our aim is to leverage our extensive network and build upon our vast experience in the UK to make additional inroads into this sector, in North America and other countries served by our 500-city network."
Global Crossing will supply the Forestry Commission's 256 UK sites and 3,500 users with managed IP VPN, voice, mobile working and conferencing services via the Government Telecommunications Contract (GTC), a managed framework contract that enables government bodies to procure telecommunications services.
The Forestry Commission sought a partner to simplify technology procurement, expand services available to employees and improve service levels. They chose Global Crossing for its experience in the government sector and ability to provide managed flexible telecommunication services.
Global Crossing will provide a managed Local Area Network (LAN) at the Forestry Commission's main site, highly reliable connectivity across the UK and flexible working solutions for remote and home workers. The existing voice infrastructure will be upgraded to enable voice over Internet protocol (VoIP) services across all sites. Global Crossing will also be the managing agents for the Forestry Commission's other framework agreements.
The Forestry Commission's IP traffic will be transported over Global Crossing's secure, privately owned and operated MPLS-based IP backbone, which is separate from the public Internet. This private platform enables Global Crossing to provide global multinationals with the security and performance they require.
Service for the Forestry Commission will be rolled out in phases. All the Forestry Commission's voice services will be transferred immediately using carrier pre-selection (CPS) and then migrated to Global Crossing's managed voice platform. CPS allows calls to be routed over a different provider's network using existing infrastructure. The existing voice infrastructure will be upgraded to IP-enabled switches that, in conjunction with Global Crossing's IP VPN service, will enable VoIP services for the Forestry Commission.
Global Crossing's audio and video conferencing services will allow the Forestry Commission to reduce travel costs associated with traveling to meetings and improve employee efficiency. Conferencing services will also support home and remote workers across the country. Audio conferencing will be available to all Forestry Commission employees with immediate effect, with video conferencing available in the main sites as equipment is rolled out.
In addition to the Forestry Commission, Global Crossing serves many other significant customers in the UK government sector. In March 2005 Global Crossing announced that it would provide the British Council to provide a fully managed, terrestrial and satellite IP-based network connecting more than 7,000 users at 260 offices in 110 countries, and under its other government framework contract, Managed Telecommunications Service (Mts), Global Crossing provides more than 110,000 users with secure managed voice and data services to more than 90 different government departments.
About Global Crossing
Global Crossing (NASDAQ: GLBC) provides telecommunications solutions over the world's first integrated global IP-based network. Its core network connects more than 300 cities and 30 countries worldwide, and delivers services to more than 500 major cities, 50 countries and 6 continents around the globe. The company's global sales and support model matches the network footprint and, like the network, delivers a consistent customer experience worldwide.
