Capita Sign £8m Contract to Connect Public Sites in East Cheshire

Capita has today signed a new 5-year £8 million contract with Cheshire East Council in England, which will see them roll-out a Wide Area Network (WAN) to help provide data services for over 500 public sector sites (e.g. local councils, schools, fire and police service etc.) in the county. A new WiFi network is also planned.

We should clarify that this is a new contract with one of Capita’s existing clients, which means they aren’t building a new network from scratch but they will be improving it. The network, known as Cheshire Next Generation WAN (CNGW), will provide improved connectivity between buildings, data centres and better internet and cloud access in a resilient and secure manner.

Having said that, the council did say last year that the NGW contract would also provide a framework to enable for the rapid mobilisation of future initiatives like 5G mobile, ultrafast broadband and Local Full Fibre Networks (LFFN) with other local and regional partners. “The proposal could support the creation of greater digital choice for all resident,” said the local authority.

Mark Cook, Executive Officer of Capita’s Technology Solutions, said:

“This contract was secured on the strength of our long-standing relationship with Cheshire East Council and our innovative network design to support future digital transformation. We worked closely with the council’s team to ensure that our solution supports their digital services now and in the future.”

One new aspect is that the deal will also support the delivery of a future “town centre WiFi” network that can be accessed by residents and businesses to help connect with each other and be updated on local events. The first implementation will be in Chester, with consideration to be rolled out further. No further details were provided.