Foreign Office and DFID to share VoIP service network

The Department for International Development (DFID) and the Foreign & Commonwealth Office will share a VoIP service network in a bid to cut costs.

Telecommunications firm Cable & Wireless Worldwide has signed a £10.3 million contract with the DFID, having already agreed an £82 million deal with the Foreign Office earlier this year.

Both deals will last five-and-a-half years and will see Cable & Wireless providing a dedicated VoIP solutions network for each government department to access.

The new communications system is expected to save the DFID around £9 million over the course of the contract.

"I am delighted to announce another important customer win in our public sector business and the second contract on our global telecoms framework," said Jim Marsh, chief executive of Cable & Wireless Worldwide.

"By utilising the one network, both DFID and the Foreign & Commonwealth Office stand to benefit from greater collaboration and increased efficiencies."