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Thames Valley Police and Hampshire & Isle of Wight Constabulary have appointed technology provider Telent to modernise their communications infrastructure in a six-year partnership aimed at supporting digital policing.
The contract, awarded in November 2025, will see both forces move away from legacy Multiprotocol Label Switching (MPLS) technology to a Software-Defined Wide Area Network (SD-WAN). The new platform is expected to provide greater flexibility, lower operating costs and faster deployment of services across more than 200 police sites.
Delivered as a fully managed service, the programme will connect stations and operational locations across rural and urban areas while also supporting the existing local area network that links more than 24,000 devices. The upgraded system is designed to enable secure transfer of forensic data, improved frontline connectivity and quicker access to digital tools.
Barry Zielinski, Telent’s Strategy and Development Director, said the project was about enabling more effective policing rather than simply replacing technology. He added that the network would be “secure, responsive and built to last”, delivered by engineers experienced in critical national infrastructure.
Both forces said the investment formed part of a wider strategy to future-proof policing and improve resilience. They believe the new infrastructure will help officers make faster decisions, communicate more effectively and manage demand from everyday neighbourhood policing to major public events.
Telent was chosen for its track record in large-scale infrastructure projects and its understanding of the policing environment, with the partnership expected to underpin digital transformation across the two constabularies for years to come.
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