Cable&Wireless Worldwide announced today that it has secured a 15-year, £270 million deal with National Grid, the operator of the UK HV Electricity Grid. Under the scope of the deal, C&W will design, deliver and manage a dedicated Next Generation Operational Telecommunications Network (OpTel NGN) to support National Grid’s Core Network Infrastructure and Operational Systems, which support the transmission of electricity in the UK.

From the initial information, OpTel NGN will be the underlying communications infrastructure for the deployment of smart grid technologies and platforms. National Grid did not say whether it is developing or implementing a smart grid, nor the supplier of the hardware and software required for adding intelligence into the power grid.

The C&W deal consists of two separate contracts; a 15-year, £108m contract to provide and operate the optical fibre network which underpins the entire National Grid core operational functions and a 5-year, £99m dedicated contract for a Managed Service for the overall Operational Telecommunications Network infrastructure.

According to Cable&Wireless, the new OpTel NGN will be designed as a dedicated network, enabling it to securely deliver mission critical services. This approach provides a seamless migration path for future technology and service requirements enabling National Grid to move forward at a rate of change that meets its business needs, C&W said.

“Our Operational Telecommunications Network provides mission critical services, so it’s absolutely vital that we picked the right strategic supplier that could support us in the transmission of electricity in the UK,” said David Lister, CIO, National Grid. “Cable&Wireless offered us all the assurances we need in terms of customer service, resilience and security for us to continue to provide the highest standards of service to our customers.”

As part of the deal, Cable&Wireless will also deliver provision and governance of a dedicated Network Management Centre on a National Grid Site, specialist engineering and technical support for all National Grid Operational Sites (mostly High Voltage Substations) and an exclusive Major Incident management and priority fault restoration process. C&W will also provide ‘an enhanced Service Level Agreement and new network and performance management tools, including an automated Configuration Management Database (CMDB).

Jim Marsh, CEO, Cable&Wireless Worldwide, said: “This is a fantastic deal for Cable&Wireless as it cements our position as the premier supplier to the Utility industry. Our ability to offer a complete managed NGN service means we now have a strategically important relationship with National Grid to 2026. We look forward to delivering an excellent customer experience to one of the world’s largest energy companies and helping provide their business critical communications services.”