The installation, which was carried out by Echo/ttml, an Alcatel premium business partner, involved replacing the existing legacy infrastructure with a new telephone network, which would provide ease of management, streamlined costs, and minimised downtime for the company's 4,000 users. Being closely linked to the Ministry of Defense (MoD), the integrity of AgustaWestland's on-site communication is vital. The Alcatel solution is fully secure and can be upgraded to IP at the company's own pace.
AgustaWestland's 4,000 UK users are based in Yeovil, Somerset, on a site that comprises approximately 100 buildings spread over a large area. Previously, AgustaWestland incurred substantial operating costs for use of an unreliable network that had failed for more than 24 hours on several occasions over a two-year period. After initially outsourcing the network, AgustaWestland decided to invest in a new infrastructure that the company could own and maintain itself. After evaluating technology from several vendors, it decided to implement the Alcatel OmniPCX Enterprise with Echo/ttml also providing Alcatel's OmniVista management console to enable centralised control.