BT upgrades communications to fibre for the European Food Safety Authority in Parma

High –speed internet will help the EU agency 
meet the demand for bandwidth as it transforms how research is gathered and communicated.

Few issues are as important as food safety. In recent times, concerns about what we eat have spread to include the way our food is grown and manufactured too.

As technology transforms how scientific data is gathered and analysed — and the public increasingly looks online for food safety information — the European Food Safety Authority’s (EFSA) appetite for bandwidth is outgrowing its Internet connectivity. 

BT, through its subsidiary BT Enìa, has signed an agreement to supply high-capacity fibre Internet connections to the EFSA’s headquarters in Parma. The four-year contract saw BT win against bids from other operators in Italy and builds on the company’s established position as a leading provider of communication services to the EU.

The new high-speed connections will provide Internet and data bandwidth up to 10 Gigabits per second, allowing the more than 450 EFSA employees to benefit from faster and more productive user experiences. BT will also connect the Authority's disaster recovery services located at the Parco Ducale in Parma.

EFSA is an independent agency funded by the European Union It provides independent scientific advice and communicates clearly on existing and emerging risks related to the food chain. It was officially established in January 2002, following a series of food crises that occurred in the late 1990s. The Authority's principle of action is based on close collaboration and sharing of knowledge with the EU member states and with many other scientific entities beyond the borders of the EU.

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Aleksander Straunik, Global PR.