Balfour Beatty builds on BT foundations

The deal is worth £22.5m over the next five years and is designed to enable employees to work from any of Balfour Beatty's 300 sites in the UK. BT Ignite is a new company set up to deal with corporate and wholesale customers in the broadband and IP services sector.

Ian Hamilton, managing director of the Construction Industry Computing Association, said: "In the construction industry, increasing amounts of information, especially large files such as designs, are transmitted around the world daily. The size of the files means that broadband communications are increasingly crucial.

"Many firms in this sector have had problems with unreliable providers who claim to offer global services but simply don't. Poor helpdesk support and lack of geographical coverage are key issues. Leading organisations in the industry are looking at contracting out their needs to major suppliers if they think they can find suitable partners."

The contract with BT Ignite will include management and staffing of helpdesk support. Balfour Beatty had an existing five-year relationship with BT running up to the new deal.