01 June 06. Rear Admiral Rees Ward, Chief Executive of the Defence Communications Services Agency, officially opened Paradigm’s new operations support centre in Hawthorn today. The building, completed in April 2006, houses staff supporting the adjacent main operations centre for the Skynet 5 military satellite communications programme.
The ceremony was also attended by a number of high-level dignitaries including Alan Bosley, Local Councillor for Corsham and François Auque, CEO EADS SPACE.
The building was successfully completed on time following the signing of a contract with Paradigm’s Skynet 5 partner, Serco, for the provision of a new operations support building on the Paradigm Services Hawthorn site in August 2005.
The new building at Paradigm’s Main Operations Centre site at Hawthorn, Wiltshire, accommodates Paradigm Services and its subcontracted staff, together with DCSA (Defence Communications and Services Agency) SAT IPT (SATCOM Acquisition Team) staff managing the Skynet 5 PFI contract. The Hawthorn site, which houses Paradigm’s Network and Spacecraft Operations Centre, is located close to the DCSA Global Operations and Security Control Centre (GOSCC) at Corsham.
The SAT IPT has now successfully co-located 25 key team members alongside Paradigm’s existing staff at the new Hawthorn building to further integrate the joint team and will bring the total employed on site to 180, including those working 24/7.
Under the Skynet 5 PFI contract, system upgrades have been developed to enable remote control and monitoring of the Skynet ground stations located in Hampshire and Wiltshire. These upgrades have already enabled Network Operations functions to be transferred to the Main Operations Centre at Hawthorn.
It is anticipated that the new two-story building will be in operation for the remaining period of the Skynet 5 contract.
Malcolm Peto, Managing Director Paradigm Secure Communications said: ”The new building provides Paradigm with a flagship facility close to the DCSA GOSCC and allows collocation of Paradigm Operations personnel with the SAT IPT. The new network operation centre will enable us to build on the successes already achieved in the programme, by providing even more reliable and flexible services to UK Armed Forces worldwide.”
Rear Admiral Rees Ward, Chief Executive of the DCSA added, “This building, and more importantly the joint MoD and Paradigm team within it, underlies the importance of partnering for joint benefit. It contributes significantly to the DCSA’s Vision of Industry/MoD partnering to deliver assured, integrated information services to the UK’s Armed Forces”.
This announcement is the culmination od the MoDs Flagship and only Defence PFI Programme. Paradigm signed a £2.5bn contract with the UK MOD in October 2003, for the provision of all worldwide satellite communications services to UK Armed Forces up to 2018. The programme, procured as a groundbreaking Private Finance Initiative (PFI), includes the funding for the next generation of UK Milsatcom capability. In December 2005, Paradigm Secure Communications Ltd signed an amendment with the UK MoD to extend the 15 year Skynet 5 PFI service contract, bringing the concession period to 2020.
As part of the PFI deal, Paradigm also offers military and commercial communications services to other governments and international organisations using the existing Skynet 4 satellites and will launch the first of three Skynet 5 satellites in 2006. Paradigm is also able to access the full range of commercial satcom solutions and is now the definitive one stop shop for military satellite communications. For more information visit www.paradigmsecure.com
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