Source: Peter Bugeja
Deputy CEO & CIO
Malta Information Technology and Training Services Ltd

Late in December 2003, Malta Information Technology and Training Services Ltd. (MITTS Ltd.) entered into a twelve-year agreement with Maltacom plc and Melita Cable plc for the Provision of a High Speed Fibre Optic Network Connectivity Services.

In 1996, the then Management Systems Unit Ltd (MSU Ltd) had implemented the current fibre optic network, known as the MAlta Government NETwork (MAGNET), based on Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM) technology to service around fifty Government Ministries and Departments in the Valletta and the immediate surroundings. This network has enabled Government to proliferate IT / IS applications such as e-mail, Internet, and corporate applications like the Common Database (CdB) and the Departmental Accounting System (DAS), to help facilitate and improve the efficiency of the Public Service. The availability of this network also enabled the Government to launch its e-Government services for the benefit of providing a 24 x 7 service to its citizens.

However, with the increased availability of new technologies within the Information Communication Technology (ICT) environment and further to the Government's determination to improve its services to meet the ever growing demands and expectations, it was established that the current network needed to be enhanced.

Around mid 2002 MITTS Ltd issued a Tender for the Provision of High Speed Fibre Optic Connectivity Services directly to the only two licensed land-based Telecommunications Transport Providers, Maltacom plc and Melita Cable plc.

Maltacom and Melita Cable decided that it would be beneficial to both themselves and also to MITTS Ltd and the Government of Malta if they submitted a joint bid. Stating that "the combined resources of the two member companies can synergise to give MITTS and the Government of Malta the optimal solution for its data networking requirements."

Negotiations, which proved difficult and complex, were held over the ensuing eighteen months and agreement was reached on all points in December 2003 leading to the signing of the contract.

The agreement provides for a High Speed Fibre Optic Connectivity Service to fifty-nine Government Ministries and Departments within the Valletta / Floriana and Gwardamangia region. The network is being provided for Government's own private and exclusive use, enabling the Government to make use of the latest ICT technologies. Each site will be serviced by two connections; one live and the other for backup purposes. Twenty-one of the more critical sites will have two fibre optic circuits passing through different routes, the remaining thirty-eight sites will be serviced through one fibre optic circuit and one ADSL circuit. The second (backup) circuit to each site will be used to provide the required redundancy thus giving each site a minimum availability of 99.8% over successive sixty day periods, which translates to around three hours of buffer period prior to the initiation of penalties.

Furthermore the network is also governed by performance related metrics and corresponding Service Level Agreements, thus ensuring the best network performance on a twenty-four hour basis.

The network itself is made up of a switched gigabit ethernet core with each site connecting to this core. The core in itself is resilient and provides sufficient capacity for all sites to operate at the maximum bandwidth allowed by the equipment. Each site will have a bandwidth of approximately 80Mbps over a Virtual Private Network (VPN) connection that will be encrypted to the highest standards allowed by commercially available equipment.

The two main operational sites, the MITTS Ltd Data Centres at Gattard House and the Disaster Recovery Site will each have a bandwidth of approximately one Gigabit (also over a VPN and encrypted). In addition these two sites will be connected between them through a Point-to-Point fibre optic cable through the current fibre optic contract. This will enable these two sites to operate as active - active Data Centres thus allowing for full fail-over services to be deployed for the benefit of the Government's IT / IS services and applications.

This is but the initial phase of a long journey. The next phase is the implementation of the network, which is expected to take approximately eight months including acceptance testing and commissioning. The network will then be phased into operational service over the last quarter of 2004.

This agreement also marks a significant new way of 'doing business' by exploiting the knowledge and experience of industry leading organisations in providing Government with services that may in the past have been provided solely by Government itself. This ensures that the best of breed ideas, technologies and intellectual capital is brought to bear and fruition to ensure cost effective and efficient services to the Government and the Maltese public.

It is with this spirit of collaboration that this network will be brought to life and operated over the coming twelve years.