BT Group plc announced it is working with ABB to elevate its internationally managed communications infrastructure to new levels of performance, choice and agility to support the company's new operating model. It follows the signing of a new contract between the two companies. The new contract builds on an existing agreement, signed in 2014, under which BT consolidated and optimised the leading global technology company's international communications infrastructure.

Working with ABB's Information Systems team, BT will now transform the network infrastructure to create a sustainable, resilient and secure core platform featuring a highly automated and data-driven managed service. The communications infrastructure will reliably and securely connect people, devices and machines at over 600 facilities in 60 countries. Using the latest software-defined networking technology, it will offer ABB a choice of connectivity options for each site, including 5G access.

It will also provide ABB with a new software-driven platform delivered over Wifi 6 to enable mobility and digital manufacturing concepts, such as robotics, Internet of Things (IoT) and Big Data technologies at production sites. Both companies have committed to a co-innovation fund as part of the contract.