International mining group Rio Tinto has awarded a five-year contract to deliver global networking and security services to more than 280 Rio Tinto sites around the world. The services support users in both global offices as well as remote mining locations such as Canga East in Guinea, Ulaanbaatar in Mongolia and Almaty in Kazakhstan.

This new contract will consolidate IT infrastructure, enhance network performance and further integrate global resources cost effectively. Building on a 10-year working partnership between the two companies, this contract will allow further consolidation of IT infrastructure and services while addressing developing business requirements and improving agility and flexibility.

Orange Business Services will provide WAN services including satellite access and network management, as well as secure Internet gateways and traffic optimization. These services will be provided under a dedicated service management structure, backed by global consulting and project management, and supported through a service catalog and order management portal.

Orange’s ability to provide services, networking and security on a global scale is a key component of the partnership. Rio Tinto required a service provider who could supply improved flexibility and agility to support its dynamic global business model and was looking for operational cost savings.

“Orange’s global capabilities deliver considerable value to Rio Tinto,” said Scott Singer, head of Global Business Services, Rio Tinto. “Over the past decade, Orange’s technology and service solutions have supported our divestment and acquisition activities. We look forward to continuing to work with them to support our growth program, especially in developing nations where we will leverage Orange’s far reaching network capabilities.”

The global mining industry has gone through significant change in the last decade. This includes consolidation through numerous M&As, changes in regulations, as well as the exploring of newer and deeper mining sites that were not accessible before. Managing these changes and maintaining operations on this scale requires communications services providers such as Orange to deliver not only strong global reach, but also highly secure and reliable service levels to ensure business continuity at all times.