LONDON -- The Community of General Local Health Funds (AOK) in Germany will in future be relying on BT voice services. BT Germany has won the contract to connect all 1600 AOK sites in Germany, with a total of 60,000 staff, to its voice network. BT will also operate several service numbers and a central service portal. The five-year contract worth €30m is the result of a Europe-wide public tender process.

The migration of voice connections will start at the beginning of 2006. A total of some 500 large AOK sites will be connected directly to the BT network and around another 5,000 lines will be managed by BT. Furthermore, all service numbers such as the national hotline for people insured with the AOK or the AOK “clarimedis” number will be operated by BT.

The AOK project managers will be able to use a dedicated online portal to monitor the progress of the installation, to view inventory lists and if necessary to submit support requests.

Werner Wess, Sales Manager Government at BT Germany, explains: “The AOK will benefit from BT's comprehensive expertise in public sector organisations and their requirements. This contract is a huge vote of confidence for us and another major milestone in our strategy of offering tailored solutions to public authorities.”

BT Group plc (NYSE: BT; London: BTA)