BT wins $37 million global contract from De Beers Group

Communication solutions company BT today said it has signed a six-year global contract worth $37 million with diamond miner De Beers Group to provide a wide range of IT services.

BT's global network will help the world's leading diamond company connect generations of people with the earth's natural treasures, the UK-based firm said in a statement.

"The six-year agreement, worth $37 million, sees BT orchestrate a wide range of IT services across 70 De Beers Group sites, including exploration and mining locations across the world," it added.

Established in 1888, De Beers is the world's leading diamond company. Its diamond exploration, mining and marketing operations directly or indirectly employ more than 20,000 people globally.

De Beers and BT teams are bringing together a full range of BT Connect networking technologies including fibre, microwave and satellite, BT said.

These will give De Beers staff, whether they are located in the frozen Northwest Territories of Canada, the Bushveld regions of southern Africa or the cities of Europe, Middle East and Asia, access to business applications and data storage as well as voice and conferencing services.

BT is also helping De Beers to tune its network to its business needs. BT Connect Accelerate allows De Beers to prioritise its critical business applications accessed across its global network to ensure a better and more productive user experience for all employees.