TNP delivers Wirral Wide Area Network in £4 million contract24/05/2021
The first stage of a five-year contract to deliver and support a Wide Area Network for Wirral Council has been completed by public sector digital network specialist TNP with the core infrastructure for the authority’s digital strategy now fully operational.
Lancaster-based TNP (The Networking People) was appointed as the Council’s strategic digital partner to design, supply, deliver and implement the telecoms and data network. The first stage of the project to deliver the WAN on time and to budget was completed in January 2021 with TNP working through the various COVID-19 lockdowns to meet the deadline.
The Wide Area Network (WAN) now in place is a key part of the Wirral Digital Strategy to ensure technology and infrastructure in the town is fit for purpose, allowing Wirral to compete in a digital economy and deliver the connectivity required for effective delivery of services for the community.
Under the contract worth more than £4 million TNP was tasked with project-managing delivery of the new network and migration from existing sites over to the new infrastructure. The scope of work includes a service desk staffed by engineers, 24/7 network monitoring, and teams with specific technical knowledge and skills in public sector network compliance to support the project through to 2025, with the option of a further 2-year extension.
The WAN project integrates Openreach exchange and fibre infrastructure, as well as copper-based connections, with Council-owned dark fibre and carrier class microwave technology.
Using dedicated fibre optic connectivity and emerging fibre-to-the-premises (FTTP) solutions means the Council can now easily assimilate additional connections and it has already been able to take advantage of the inclusion of the Wirral region as part of the Openreach fibre-first rollout.
A total of 75 sites including Council offices, depots, libraries and schools are already connected, and there are plans to extend the network to deliver more than 200 additional locations including connectivity for CCTV and urban traffic control.
TNP Commercial Director Chris Wade explains:
As the single strategic partner for the project TNP developed a network infrastructure strategic roadmap in line with the Council’s core strategy, and provides advice and support on all network related issues, training for Wirral Council IT staff members and ongoing network management.
“We have extensive experience gained assisting local authorities, health trusts, colleges and universities with upgrading and developing their digital infrastructure to meet future needs, enable wider use of cloud technology and most recently supporting them through the pandemic. As an independent company we can provide the highest levels of technical support through our own qualified staff and vendor partnerships, making TNP ideally suited to the role of strategic partner for public sector network projects.”