Wednesday, British telecommunications company Cable & Wireless Plc (CW.L) said it won a 15-year, GBP 207 million deal from National Grid Plc (NGG, NG.L) for making and managing the Next Generation Network to support electricity transmission in the U.K.
Cable & Wireless Worldwide signed the deal, under which it will design, deliver and manage a dedicated Next Generation Operational Telecommunications Network, or OpTel NGN, to support National Grid's Core Network Infrastructure and Operational Systems. The safe transmission of electricity in the UK is dependent on these systems, the company noted.
The decade and a half agreement comprises two individual contracts. The first, a 15-year, GBP 108 million contract to provide and operate the optical fiber network, which underpins the entire National Grid core operational functions. The second, a 5-year, GBP 99 million dedicated contract for a Managed Service for the overall Operational Telecommunications Network infrastructure.
According to the company, the new dedicated OpTel NGN design will enable mission critical services to be delivered securely via an integrated Multi Service Platform. The company continues, "The network platform will set a power utility standard which will solve problems associated with the provision of high performance telecommunication services for demanding high voltage protection, control and other operational applications in a harsh electrical environment."
Further, Cable&Wireless will deliver the required high performance and critical Operational Telecommunication Services to enable National Grid to operate U.K.'s High Voltage Electricity Grid safely, efficiently, and reliably. The company will also provide an enhanced Service Level Agreement and new network and performance management tools, including an automated Configuration Management Data Base.
National Grid is an international electricity and gas company, which owns and operates the high-voltage electricity transmission network in England and Wales.
CW.L is currently trading on LSE at 131.30 pence, up 0.10 pence, or 0.08% on day, with a volume of 1.96 million shares.
NG.L, meanwhile, is currently riding down by 1.00 pence, or 0.19% on the LSE, at 539.50 pence, on 1.37 million share volume.
NGG closed on Tuesday at $44.65, down $0.44 on NYSE.
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