BT connects Dutch diplomatic missions

BT has signed a contract with the Netherlands Ministry of Foreign Affairs to provide communication services to its embassies and consulates in 120 countries. The telco will provide the ministry with WAN, LAN and wireless LAN services.

BT’s global SD-WAN (software-defined wide area network) services were launched in November 2020. The cloud-optimised managed network services are designed to expand multinational customers’ choice of software-based connectivity systems. They can be managed or co-managed remotely by the company on its new digital service platform, giving customers a single view of their entire network and a choice of management controls.

By using the latest software-defined networking technology, BT said the Dutch diplomatic missions will have an infrastructure that can support the increasing consumption of cloud services. The contract is valued at €33m over the initial period of four years, with an option to be extended to a total duration of up to nine years. It was won in a public, EU-wide tender.

Among the benefits claimed by BT for the services is secure access to data and cloud services. The new network services will also form the foundation for what the Dutch ministry says is its digital transformation journey and will go towards enabling secure collaboration internally as well as with external partners.

“I am really proud that the Dutch government have put their trust in us to connect their embassies and consulates around the world,” said Joris van Oers, managing director for Europe at BT. “We can build on many years of experience serving public sector customers such as EU institutions and governments in many countries, and we are happy to support the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on its journey into a more digital future.”