Lord Grenfellasked Her Majesty's Government:
What plans they have to modernise the Foreign and Commonwealth Office's communications systems. [HL2397]
§ Baroness Scotland of AsthalThe Foreign and Commonwealth Office signed a contract on 10 May 2000 with Global Crossing to provide a new telecommunications network arid associated telecommunications services. The contract has been negotiated as part of the private finance initiative, and will run for a 10-year period. The projected net present value of the contract is £106 million. The total cost of the contract over the 10-year period is projected at £165 million.