Cost to renew Sheffield Council’s Vodafone contract estimated at £2.4m

It has more than 9,200 connections split across a range of devices supported by a variety of call and data packages which allow staff to make and receive calls as well access their emails, calendars and the internet on the move.

In a report on the subject, council officers said: “[It] enhances the capabilities of a workforce which is becoming more mobile as the council transforms its services.”

It’s new contract will cover the next three years, until June 6, 2024.

Over the course of the previous three-year contract, the council added 3,000 new connections and the council’s monthly data use increased from an average 2.8 Terabytes per month to 3.8 Terabytes in April 2020 - not long after the country was put into its first Covid-19 lockdown.

The estimated cost is more than £2.4 million - funded by recharging usage costs to services - which is based on the council hitting over eight Terabytes in March and April this year - this increase was put down to the implementation of the Microsoft Teams App earlier this year.

Council officers said continuing with Vodafone provides consistency in network and reception performance, competitive and consistent pricing for each tariff type, enables connections to be moved from one tariff type to another and provides an effective and efficient way to manage the council’s telephony requirements.

The decision was made by the executive director of resources and will come into force from June 5 if no-one calls it in.