Cable&Wireless Worldwide Supports Secure Pan-Government Connectivity

GCSX - N3 Interconnect Service to Provide Secure Network Connectivity Between the Government Connect Secure Extranet (GCSX) and the NHS N3 Network

LONDON, March 17, 2011 - Cable&Wireless Worldwide has recently established the GCSX -
N3 Interconnect Service. Providing a secure gateway between the Government
Connect Secure Extranet (GCSX) and NHS N3 network, the service enables local
councils and NHS Trusts to securely and conveniently access each others' data
resources without the need to obtain and maintain additional network
infrastructure.

The GCSX - N3 Interconnect Service provides the foundation for
more integrated Health and Social Care by enabling secure, reliable and
efficient information sharing between Local Government and the NHS.

Developed and provided by C&W Worldwide, the N3 Interconnect
Service costs local authorities considerably less to obtain and run than a
separate N3 connection and removes the need to duplicate the procurement and
management of additional infrastructure. As a result, the Interconnect
Service is not only resilient, robust and reliable but also cost effective.

Rochdale Metropolitan Borough Council has implemented the new
service as an early adopter because it had been looking at ways to reduce
duplicated infrastructure for some time.

Simon Watton, IS Programme Manager at Rochdale Metropolitan
Borough Council, comments; "The GCSX - N3 Interconnect Service makes
commercial and business sense. Our priorities are speed of implementation,
high resilience, expandability and predicted lower cost of ownership, all of
which were met with this implementation. It also helps us realise further
cost savings as we do not have to obtain and maintain two separate
connections and is much simpler as we have a single point of contact for both
services."

Brian Woodford, Managing Director of Public Sector and
Partners at C&W Worldwide, comments; "Fifty-six local authorities have
already expressed interest in signing up to use the N3 Interconnect and we
are well on our way to helping increase the number of cross Government
applications that a Local Authority can securely access via their GCSX
connection. This will ensure increased sharing of information and greater
collaboration which will in turn create a more efficient and joined up
service to the public, and at a lower cost."

Patrick Clark, Head of Government Connect, comments; "The
ability for local authority staff to securely and conveniently access NHS
data from their desktops, using existing infrastructure and processes, is an
exciting development and a major boost to the drive towards more integrated
Health and Social Care Service provision. I would encourage local authorities
and NHS organisations to seek to adopt the Interconnect Service at the
earliest opportunity in order to enable the shared services required to meet
the increasing demand for them to be more cost efficient and join up
services. There is potential for the N3 Interconnect Service to be utilised
by Central as well as Local Government and I am hopeful that it will
increasingly become the principal way for Government to communicate securely
and effectively with the NHS."

NOTES TO EDITORS

The benefits of the GCSX - N3 Interconnect Service include:

- Cost - The new service is delivered over the existing GCSX
infrastructure and costs less than an equivalent dedicated N3 line. Local
authorities will only need to manage their existing GCSX connection and will
not need to procure, install and manage an additional NHS connection.

- Security - Providing the N3 service in this way means the Accreditation
is more manageable, reduces risk, and utilises an Accredited GCSX connection
already in place.

- Speed of set-up - the new service operates across existing secure
government infrastructure. As a result the service can be adopted quickly
without the need to install new infrastructure.

- Operational Support - The C&W Worldwide secure hosting team has
extensive experience in managing and monitoring services within this
environment.

For more information please visit www.buyingsolutions.gov.uk or
www.gsi.gov.uk.

About Cable&Wireless Worldwide

Cable&Wireless Worldwide is a leading global telecoms company
providing a wide range of high-quality managed voice, data, hosting and
IP-based services and applications to large multinational companies,
governments, carrier customers and resellers across the UK, Asia Pacific,
India, Middle East & Africa, Continental Europe and North America.
Established in the 1860s, Cable&Wireless Worldwide helps more than 6,000
organisations deliver their goals. The Group's vision is to be the first
choice for mission critical communications.

Reaching 20,500km in length, Cable&Wireless Worldwide owns the
UK's largest fibre network dedicated to business users of telecoms, and
provides ubiquitous nationwide access through a combination of fibre,
digital, microwave, radio and leased circuits. The network has presence in
over 400 towns and cities in the UK, with more than 850 unbundled exchanges
covering 55% of the population.

Internationally, Cable&Wireless Worldwide's global
next-generation network (NGN) stretches to more than 500,000km, including
interests in 69 global cable systems, enabling connectivity to 153 countries.
The Group's IP-based Multi-Service Platform operates across the NGN, offering
a single environment on which voice and data applications can be converged to
drive business efficiencies. Cable&Wireless Worldwide's network is uniquely
designed with inbuilt resilience.

With more than 6,200 colleagues globally, Cable&Wireless
Worldwide is committed to delivering exceptional customer service and
developing long term partnerships with its customers.

To find out more, please visit www.cw.com.

    Contacts:

    Hotwire
    Claire Lorimer / Christina Murphy
    Claire.lorimer@hotwirepr.com
    +44(0)20-7608-4667

Hotwire, Claire Lorimer / Christina Murphy, Claire.lorimer at hotwirepr.com, +44(0)20-7608-4667