Leading supermarket group Sainsbury‘s has today announced a new deal with telecommunication giant BT which will see faster broadband brought into its stores.
BT‘s next generation of broadband internet service will be implemented in all of the grocer‘s 1,000 supermarkets and its 23 depots by December 2012.
The new service, which was signed off on Wednesday December 14th, promises up to four times more capacity for the retailer‘s connections, allowing its stores and depots to share more data in real time.
Justin King, Sainsbury‘s CEO, said: “This deal with BT is a significant step for Sainsbury‘s as we continue to invest to support our growth plans. This investment will enhance the productivity of our colleagues in store and allow an even greater focus on serving customers.”
Sainsbury‘s is the third biggest grocer in the UK in terms of market share and has made a number of significant investments over the last few months including the acquisition of Global Media Vault and the renewal of its logistics contract with Allport.
More than 230 of Sainsbury‘s convenience stores have already been connected to the next generation of broadband service and the new deal will ensure all of its smaller format stores will have been upgraded by the end of this year.
A mix of products are included in the agreement including ethernet and advanced copper broadband, and the new infrastructure will allow Sainsbury‘s to develop voice and video services in the future.
Ian Livingston, CEO of BT, commented on the deal: “This contract is testament to our ability to deliver complex communications systems to large, multi-sited enterprises, so we‘re very proud that Sainsbury‘s has chosen us.
“BT‘s next generation network will future-proof Sainsbury‘s platform for the coming years and it opens up a range of possibilities for them to be even more creative with the services they offer their customers and colleagues.”
Both BT and Sainsbury‘s are sponsors of the Paralympic Games to be held in London next year.
