TheNHS N3broadband network is now
offering NHS organisations reduced call charges after being
madevoice over IPcapable by
BT.
NHS organisations can make substantial savings on communications
by converging their voice and data over a single network, said
BT.
Up until now, N3 has largely been used for 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 ongoing 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, said BT, as a result of a partnership with mobile
network operator
O2.
BT says currently 70% 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.
Patrick O'Connell, managing director at BT
Health, said N3 had hit 18,000 connections by this January.
NHS Connecting for Health, the body behind the
NHS National Programme for IT, 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.
And these costs have to be met locally.
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>>
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