City of London Corporation set to save £70,000 annually following new mobile contract with BT EE.
The City of London Corporation is transitioning its mobile voice and data services to BT EE, a move expected to generate significant annual savings and improve communication services.
The new contract, replacing the existing Virgin Media O2 agreement, will cover approximately 4,115 mobile phone connections and 775 mobile broadband data connections. The projected annual savings of £70,000 represent an increase from the initial estimate of £50,000. This increase in projected savings is attributed to a more recent contract modelling and the identification of 1,200 unused connections across the organisation over the past three months, which will not require replacement.
Beyond cost savings, the new BT EE contract offers improved voice and data connectivity, including 5G. The previous Virgin Media O2 contract included roaming for European countries with a flat £7.50 per day fee outside the EU, while the new BT contract is expected to have cheaper roaming charges. The fee now being paid to BT is stated to be cheaper than the previous £7.50 per day fee for non-EU roaming.
In addition to the direct cost savings, the transition includes a programme to migrate staff to Microsoft Teams telephony. This initiative aims to reduce the reliance on separate mobile phones, further cutting hardware costs and decreasing the workload for the service desk. While a specific timeline for this migration was not provided, the impact is a reduction in the need for physical mobile phones.
Councillor Adam Hogg sought clarification on the overall contract value to better understand the scope of the savings. While the exact figure was not immediately available, it was noted that previous retendering exercises had already resulted in savings of £350,000.
The move to BT EE also aligns with the City of London Police's future transition to the Emergency Services Network. The new BT EE contract enables DITS to provide improved mobile and data connectivity for the corporation, preparing for the Emergency Services Network where the City of London Police will transition from legacy radio technology to digital network technology, which will also be supplied by BT EE.
The Digital Services Committee, which discussed the mobile contract award report on Tuesday, 13 October 2026, also received updates on the Digital, Data & Technology Strategy and AI adoption. The strategy outlines key pillars including 'Focus on Brilliant Basics', 'Technology Convergence', 'Become Data Driven', 'Transforming services through Automation & AI', and 'Develop Digital Skills and Share Expertise'.
Further details on the Digital Services Committee's discussions can be found in the Public reports pack and the Agenda frontsheet.