Telecommunications Framework
nets savings of £50m for LGfL

The JANET Telecommunications Framework agreement, announced in the September 2010 issue of JANET News, has helped London Grid for Learning (LGfL) make substantial savings of both time and money in reprocuring its entire infrastructure.

LGfL is the consortium of 33 Local Authorities that provides regional infrastructure services for schools and children services directorates in London, acting as a communication portal between all 33 authorities for secure traffic. More recently the LGfL infrastructure has been overlaid with the London PSN network which has provided gateways to both N3 and GCSx, the Government extranet, as well as an interface for the London Libraries Consortium. The infrastructure serves several data centres and over 2,500 school and Council sites.

In autumn 2010 LGfL put a procurement process in hand with a view to refreshing the infrastructure aspects of its service portfolio. It was eligible as an educational organisation to use the JANET framework for its purchases, which it found gave "access to a wide range of suitable vendors and offering significant time and cost savings in comparison to a 'from scratch' process. Confirmation was secured that use of the Framework by LGfL and its member local authorities would be fully compliant within the EU procurement regulations."
LGfL opened a mini-competition among the suppliers to the framework to match its precise needs. All suppliers were invited to bid on 1 October and the preferred supplier was selected during November.

LGfL says that "The levels of savings which will be enjoyed by the schools and Councils over a five-year period are confidently estimated to be in excess of £50m and all sites will benefit from a complete network refresh with no requirement for forward capital expenditure by the client.
"The effort that JANET had made in creating the Framework and supporting documentation such as the Buyers Guide proved invaluable in assisting the LGfL to produce its compliant processes."

Brian Durrant, Chief Executive of LGfL, says that "The JANET transmissions framework provided the London Grid for Learning community with direct access to an array of suitable vendors and an ideal vehicle to undertake a very successful, fully compliant, competitive process within an exceptional timescale and with a significantly lower cost of process."

The framework agreement is open to universities, colleges and other organisations connected to JANET, such as the Regional Broadband Consortia. It is also open to members of the Purchasing Consortia for education.

www.ja.net/telecommunications-framework