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BT broadband network set to signficantly cut NHS communications costs
NHS organisations in England can significantly reduce their communications costs thanks to a major upgrade of N3, the NHS national broadband network BT is rolling out as part of the National Programme for Information Technology (NPfIT).
N3, the internet protocol-based network which underpins the National Programme, has been enhanced to carry phone calls using voice over internet protocol technology (VoIP).
This means NHS organisations can make substantial savings on communications by converging their voice and data over a single network.
Up until now N3 - one of Europe’s largest virtual private networks with over 20,000 connections across England - has largely been used to support National Programme services, speeding up the transmission of clinical data within the NHS.
Voice enabling the N3 network means that two new services are now available to the NHS.
The first is the N3 Local Gateway Service. This allows NHS organisations to connect their voice networks to N3 and, after an initial set-up fee and on-going rental charge, get free calls to other users of the new voice service.
As part of this service, nationally negotiated rates for fixed to mobile calls will lead to substantial savings for NHS organisations, thanks to a partnership with mobile network operator O2. This is of particular significance as up to 70 per cent of the NHS’ call charges from landlines are spent on calling mobiles.
The second service, N3 Hosted Voice, will initially be targeted at small to medium sized users such as GP surgeries. BT will effectively host the users’ IP telephony – managing the entire infrastructure and the billing process. BT has partnered with Cisco to provide hosted Cisco Unified IP Phones.
In preparation for voice across N3, BT deployed six-layer Quality of Service, a data management system which prioritises important data applications, voice and multimedia traffic. This gives the network the ability to handle the increasing demands it faces, and ensures that delay-sensitive services such as voice are given priority.
Patrick O’Connell, Managing Director, BT Health, said: “N3 has been a real success story for patients and clinicians alike. In January this year we hit 18,000 connections two months ahead of schedule.
“Today, we’ve announced that the network is now voice enabled. This opens up a raft of cost saving opportunities, technology innovations, efficiency enhancers and a roadmap for the future for organisations and the way they communicate.”
NHS Connecting for Health has funded the voice upgrade of the network. However, there are additional set up and rental fees which will vary depending on the local NHS organisations existing infrastructure. These costs will be met locally.
