The National Roads Telecommunications Services (NRTS) contract was a 10-year public-private partnership (PPP) to provide program management, design, construction, financing and maintenance of the integrated communications systems that link the roadway communication devices (emergency telephones, CCTV, etc.) along the motorways and other main "A" roads in England with the national traffic control and police control centers.

During the first phase of the contract, the two-year New Build Phase, the Fluor-led GeneSYS Telecommunications Limited consortium replaced aging telecommunications network technology with new transmission equipment, state-of-the art multi-protocol label switching (MPLS) technology, along 3,000 km of motorways.

The consortium also developed a 24/7 Network Operations Centre (NOC) with a new suite of Operational Support System software to monitor the network.

In subsequent phases, GeneSYS would operate and maintain the network for eight years and then hand back the system to the Highways Agency (HA), providing support services for an additional two years.

Project scope included:

• Upgrading HA's existing communications network infrastructure to a state-of-the-art Internet Protocol (IP) network

• Installing equipment at more than 150 sites throughout England

• Installing ducted fiber on more than 110 km of motorway

• Converting and migrating more than 15,000 services onto the new network

• Establishing a 24/7 NOC with a 20-person staff supported by network managers and nine operational systems

Project Achievements

• In 2015, NRTS received Highways England's Safety Achievement Award for achieving 3 million safe working hours while executing the project across England's operational motorways and trunk roads.

• The project achieved recertification to ISO 9001 Quality, 14001 Environmental Management, ISO 27001 Information Security, and OSHAS 18001 for quality, environmental and occupational health safety in 2012.

• The NRTS project was awarded the Fluor “Zero Incidents 5 Star Award” for 2 million safe hours without a lost time incident.

• The project was also recognized with the Alcatel-Lucent Dynamic Enterprise Award based on its innovative communications solution that connects all the highways throughout England served by the UK Highways Agency, 2009.