Vodafone selected to deliver connectivity for major events
Leaders assembled for a photo at the 44th G7 summit in 2018 Credit: Government of Japan/CC BY 4.0
The government has spent £875,000 to ensure there is sufficient internet connectivity for two major global events scheduled to take place in the UK this year: the G7 Summit and the COP26 UN Climate Change Conference.
Procurement information reveals that the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office recently awarded mobile operator Vodafone a one-year deal worth £874,117. The contract covers the provision of internet connectivity for the two events.
The first of these is the G7 summit, which is scheduled to take place in Cornwall from 11-13 June. The event will gather the elected leaders of the seven member countries – the UK, US, Italy, France, Germany, Canada, and Japan – as well as EU figureheads Ursula von der Leyen and Charles Michel. Also joining the 2021 conference will be representatives from four guest nations: Australia; India; South Korea; and South Africa.As well as political leaders, the event will also – subject to restrictions – be attended by government officials from the participating states and media from around the world.
Related content
- Mobile Covid testing units given WiFi boost
- Digital minister confident networks will remain ‘resilient’ as citizens work from home and box-set binge
- Government’s ‘litany of failures’ leaves citizens facing many years of slow broadband
Everyone in attendance will benefit from being connected to a network on which the government has spent £414,000.
Later in the year, as many as 30,000 delegates from governments and civil-society entities around the world will attend the COP26 summit, which takes place from 1 to 12 November at at Glasgow’s SEC Centre. The venue will be kitted out with Vodafone connectivity services worth £445,000.
The contract signed with the mobile firm also provides for £15,000 of spending on constructing the network.
The government will pay 90% of the value of the deal for each of the two conferences “upon successful completion of the implementation plan and testing for that event”. Vodafone will be paid the remaining 10% once the event has concluded.
