Warwickshire and Northamptonshire County Councils have jointly awarded local company, telent Technology Services Ltd, a contract to supply, install and provide maintenance services for replacement Mobile Data Terminals (MDTs).
An MDT is a computerised device installed in all operational vehicles including front line Fire Engines. It is used to communicate between the Control Room staff, in Leamington and Northampton, and vehicles stationed around the counties.
MDTs mean that Control Room staff can quickly locate the nearest vehicle to an emergency and send them relevant incident information. They also hold operational information such as risk data and information on hazardous chemicals.
The upgrade of these systems is part of Warwickshire’s Fire and Rescue Service Control Programme to improve Fire Control provision and resilience. A partnership with Northamptonshire County Council, with whom it is purchasing the MDTs, is an integral part of the drive to share resources, boost resilience and save money.
Cllr Les Caborn, portfolio holder for community protection, said: “This is one of the projects we are undertaking as part of our partnership with Northamptonshire. It will enable both authorities to have a greater level of resilience and greater access to information about the incidents they are attending.
Whilst we went through the tendering process, and awarded the contract with Northamptonshire accordingly, we are pleased that the most competitive tender was from a locally based business.”
telent is a national communications company, headquartered in Opus Park, Warwick and employing over 1,500 people across the UK; 400 of who live in Warwickshire. Barry Zielinski, Business Development Director from telent stated, “We provided a solution which was judged the most cost effective but also helps the Fire Service to respond more quickly and effectively to local emergencies.”
This builds on experience which telent has in providing a broad range of network and communications services across a variety of industries. Mr Zielinski then added ‘The critical nature of the communications systems in Emergency Services is embedded in our business and we are pleased to have won another Fire Service Contract, especially one which is significant to so many of our employees and local customers.”
With annual revenues of over £300 million, telent has decades of experience in supplying a broad range of network and communications services. Today, the privately-held company employs approximately 1,500 people and has an engineering field force that covers the entire UK. Customers include: BT, Virgin Media, Sky, Arqiva, Vodafone, Merseyside Fire & Rescue, the Metropolitan Police, Transport for London, Network Rail, Train Operators, and London Ambulance Service.
