Provision of SIP Telephone lines

Royal Berkshire Fire Authority (RBFA) and Thames Valley Fire Control Service (TVFCS) have a mix of both PSTN and ISDN lines for the delivery of 999 and admin telephone calls. These lines have been declared end of life and BT will be commencing shutting down of these services from January 2026. The replacement technology is called SIP. To reproduce the necessary resilience we will require 4 circuits (2 via segregated broadband links) to ensure our ability to receive 999 calls cannot be lost due to the failure of any single link.

BT are the only Teir 1 telecoms provider that can provide the required resilience for delivery of 999 calls to emergency service control rooms. There is a national frame work setup for this provision.

The Authority direct awarded the contract to BT through Crown Comerical Service framework RM6116 - Network Services 3 - Lot 1a - Inter Site Connectivity (Wide Area Network) / Data Access Services and 4a - Analogue Telephony.