Gateshead awards MLL Telecom wireless contract

Contract extends existing relationship to 10 years in total

Gateshead Metropolitan Borough Council has awarded MLL Telecom a fully managed service contract for wireless services worth £800,000.

According to the relevant OJEU procurement documents, MLL will be responsible "for the supply, installation and support of wireless technology to be used as part of the council's network infrastructure".

The new agreement will bring the relationship between Gateshead council and MLL to a total of 10 years.

The contract includes "licensed and light licensed radio based WAN connectivity...to support the council's high speed connectivity needs of up to 1GBs", according to MLL.

In addition, for the contract's duration the company will be required to update the core network infrastructure and provide new technology services to areas such schools, in order "to ease congestion and reduce operational costs."

Roy Sheehan, ICT Service Director at Gateshead, said, "Radio technology is an important aspect of our network service delivery and is used by the council to deliver high speed links cost-effectively to areas where fibre is not readily available or would otherwise be too expensive."

He added, "The radio solution provides us with a very cost-effective option when addressing the challenge of delivering increased bandwidth within a reduced budget. We selected MLL Telecom for its well-known capability and expertise in providing ingenious solutions that resolve connectivity problems cost-effectively. We are extremely happy with the service they continue to provide."