Telecommunications provider, Digicel, has announced a five year contract with the Government of Barbados valued at US$2.4M to provide it with an advanced Wide Area Network (WAN), Collaboration and high availability Dedicated Internet (DIA) services. 

The overall installation was designed to scale and can cater to every Government building and serve every Government employee in Barbados. The new network seamlessly delivers telephony, internet, email and line of business applications across several Ministries including the Ministry of the Civil Service, the Personnel Administrative Department, the Ministry of Energy, the Telecoms Unit and the Civil Aviation department – putting Barbados at the forefront of technology innovation in the region.

In making the announcement at the recent House of Assembly, Prime Minister Freundel Stuart described this as a “giant step in the direction of e-Government.” He added that, “When other departments become connected, the [WAN] solution will observe savings of up to 53 per cent”.

Meanwhile, Martin Keogh, General Manager for Digicel Business said;  “We are delighted at this new contract; we put an expert team together and worked tirelessly to design and install a national IP network that is second to none in Barbados.” 

He continues, “Thanks to Digicel Business, the Government will see substantial savings; but the benefits run wider than cost savings alone. The operating efficiency means every Government body connected to the WAN can transmit data up to 100 hundred times faster than previously, and extends into voice, video, mobility, messaging, conferencing, instant messaging and contact centre. So this is a spectacular leap for Barbados in becoming a knowledge-based economy and we salute the Government for aptly leading this transformation.” 

As the leading Business Solutions provider in the region, Digicel Business has also been busy rolling out its fibre network to more than 800 businesses in Barbados and, in line with this, has also increased its Business Solutions team tenfold to keep up with the demand as it continues to deliver a host of other innovative and cost-effective solutions to organisations across the country.