MEDIA RELEASE - GNS Science has switched its mobile phone services to Vodafone, naming competitive global roaming costs as a key driver for change.

GNS Science is among the first agencies to adopt Telecommunications as a Service (TaaS), an All of Government initiative that will make it simpler to integrate customer services across agencies, and easier for people to interact with government. GNS Science selected Vodafone from the all-of-government TaaS supplier panel.

GNS Science General Manager – Information Services, Stacey Perrett says, “Our agency provides a broad range of earth, isotope and geoscience services and a proportion of our 390 strong workforce often undertake international travel necessary for scientific research purposes.

“This can include anything from conferences, to seismic and volcanic research and tracking of geothermal developments.

“Vodafone’s low fixed daily roaming rates mean our team can use their TXTs, calls and data to work as if they were in New Zealand, without having to return home to a large phone bill,” says Mr Perrett.

Vodafone offers 4G roaming to over 70 countries and its fixed daily rate is available in 23 destinations around the world - including Australia, Fiji, the UK and the USA.

Vodafone Enterprise Director Ken Tunnicliffe says, “GNS Science has a dedicated team of people providing essential services to the country and we are pleased to offer them access to a reliable global mobile network at a fair and reasonable price”.

Stacey Perrett said Vodafone’s responsiveness throughout the procurement was second to none.

“Our mobile plans are already up and running smoothly which is testament to Vodafone’s outstanding account management, and the overall ease of transition we experienced”.

The government’s new Telecommunications as a Service (TaaS) panel is designed to provide a range of cross-government telecommunications services sourced from a competitive, innovative market, which are easy for agencies to access, and assist them to provide better customer services.

The panel is administered by the Government Chief Information Officer at the Department of Internal Affairs, and reflects the goals of the Government ICT Strategy.

For more information on Vodafone Ready Government visit: http://vodafone.co.nz/business/readygovernment/