Rm Regulatory News (RM.)

31 Aug 2005 07:00

RM PLC31 August 2005 RM selected as sole supplier of broadband and Internet services to the South West Grid for Learning RM plc, the UK's leading supplier of information and communications technology(ICT) and other services to education, has been re-appointed by the South WestGrid for Learning (SWGfL) as its sole supplier of managed broadband services.The new contract, which has an initial term of three years and the potential fortwo one-year extensions, is expected to result in business worth approximately£10 million per year. SWGfL is one of ten regional broadband consortia (RBC) funded by the Departmentfor Education and Skills to provide broadband and Internet services to schools.It currently serves 2,400 schools, other educational establishments andlibraries in 15 Local Education Authorities in the south west of England. RM hasbeen the sole supplier of managed broadband services to SWGfL since it wasestablished in 2000. Under the terms of the contract, RM will be responsible for the delivery,development and day-to-day operational management of the network providingbroadband connectivity to schools in the south west of England. As well assecure, high-speed Internet access, the SWGfL network provides a range ofadded-value services including: • RM EasyMail Plus (web-based e-mail);• RM SafetyNet Plus (Internet content filtering);• RM SecureNet Plus (secure data transfer);• Application and web hosting;• Internet security services;• Video conferencing and media streaming. Commenting on the contract, Guy Chappell, Chair of SWGfL, said: "Over the last five years, SWGfL has offered schools in the south west ofEngland dependable high-speed Internet access and an innovative range ofweb-based services. Our aim is to provide schools with the educational benefitsof 21st Century connectivity whilst taking away the technical complexity. Animportant factor in achieving this has been forging a relationship with RM - apartner that combines technical expertise with educational understanding." Tim Pearson, CEO of RM, said: "I'm delighted that SWGfL has decided to renew its contract with us. SWGfL is animportant strategic relationship for RM; working in close partnership with themwe have developed some highly innovative services and products and we lookforward to continuing this innovation over the next five years. "We've worked hard to deliver high levels of educational value and customersatisfaction - as well as an excellent technical solution - to the schools andLEAs that make up SWGfL. The opportunity to work with them for a further fiveyears is the best possible indicator that we've been getting things right." - Ends - For further information, please contact:Mike Greig/Phil Hemmings, RM plc 08709 200200Mark Antelme/Andrew Fenwick, Brunswick 020 7404 5959 Notes to Editors: 1. RM was originally contracted by SWGfL to provide managed broadband services in November 2000, with an initial contract value of £6.2 million over three years. In September 2002, the Group announced that the contract had been extended to August 2005. As the number of educational establishments involved has increased - and the scope of the service provided has widened - the value of the business to RM has grown. 2. RM EasyMail Plus is the most popular web-based email service in UK schools. As well as all of the standard features of an email service, it provides educational features including banned word filtering and email restriction lists. 3. RM SafetyNet Plus is the most widely-used educational Internet filtering service in the UK. It has recently been enhanced with the integration of the Internet Watch Foundation's Child Abuse Images database and the addition of search engine thumbnail filtering. 4. RM SecureNet provides secure data transfer between schools, local education authorities, examination boards and so on. It was developed in conjunction with SWGfL and is widely used by schools to transfer sensitive data securely, efficiently and cost-effectively. This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock Exchange