Scholarship Fund the winner from Telstra contract

Jul 03, 2007

The University of Wollongong's Scholarship Fund will benefit by $50,000 each year for the next five years following the recent announcement that the University has awarded its entire telecommunications services contract to Telstra.

The contract is valued at an estimated $4.5 million over five years.

The new managed contract will see Telstra provide fixed voice and mobile services to UOW, and introduce Telstra's Next GTM network mobile services to staff.

UOW's Director of Financial Services, Mr Damien Israel, said the decision to award Telstra its total telecommunications business was made after intense scrutiny of the ability of various telco providers to fulfil the University's dynamic and innovative needs.

"Telecommunications services are an essential part of our operations and we have very stringent requirements to make sure our telco provider is able to put in place solutions that are efficient, reliable and robust," Mr Israel said.

Telstra Country Wide Area General Manager for Illawarra, Mr Pat Nolan, said the latest tender win was a powerful endorsement of Telstra's ability to deliver an extensive range of business services to its customers in the Illawarra region.

He said that as part of the agreement, Telstra was pleased to financially support the University's Scholarship Fund.

"We will make $50,000 available each year for the next five years for the University to award to students undertaking undergraduate and postgraduate research in the Communications and Information Technology fields," Mr Nolan said.

"We are pleased to have some significant input in helping future Australians develop their potential in the ever-changing technology field."