The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) has signed a three year contract with Pacnet for global network services under a whole of government telecommunications agreement.

The contract is an extension of an original deal signed in 2002 with Pacnet, formerly Asia Netcom.

Under the terms of the agreement, Pacnet will continue supporting DFAT's voice and data applications on a network solution connecting more than 103 sites worldwide.

DFAT sites include embassy, consulate and high commission locations in Asia, Africa, Middle East, Europe, the Americas, and the Pacific and Indian Ocean Islands.

Pacnet CEO, Bill Barney, said the provider is focused on providing technical and commercial flexibility in meeting the global communication mandates of DFAT. "We also look forward to extending our service offerings to other government entities in Australia," Barney added without providing any financial details of the deal. He said ubiquity and the high level of network reliability, in addition to flexible service solutions, were critical factors in DFAT's decision to re-sign with Pacent for global connectivity services. Pacnet Australia CEO, Deborah Homewood, said the win is about teamwork.

"We could not have successfully won this contract without support from all levels of our organisation, especially our back-office team of professionals who provided technical and applications expertise to support our service offering to DFAT," she said. Telecom services provider, Pacnet, was born from the operational merger of Asia Netcom and Pacific Internet.