Met Police and NPIA to cut costs with Vodafone deal

Police agencies sign four-year framework agreement

The Metropolitan Police Service and the National Policing Improvement Agency (NPIA) have signed a four-year framework agreement with Vodafone UK, which will help the Met as well as all other UK police forces procure and benefit from mobile technology.

Vodafone will continue to manage the Met's network of mobiles and take on management of some of its BlackBerrys. It will also continue to provide a network, mobile services and round-the-clock support.

The four-year deal will also see the creation of a National Police Framework Agreement, which will enable any UK police forces to procure equipment collaboratively.

"This agreement clearly demonstrates our commitment to delivering value for money communications services for both the Met and other UK police forces, meaning they can further exploit opportunities to use communications technology to improve productivity, drive efficiencies and reduce costs," said Peter Kelly, enterprise director at Vodafone UK.

He added that the savings expected from the deal were broadly in line with the government's target of 25 per cent.