Vodafone has agreed to pay Cable and Wireless £40m over two years to help it migrate its backend and enterprise functions to an IP-based network.

Vodafone, a key C&W customer for almost 20 years, will in turn help the former cable operator to make sure its next generation network and services fit the bill.

Part of the deal will see C&W professional services consultants parachuted into Vodafone to ensure a smooth transition.

C&W and BT will be competing hard for contract wins in the next few years as BT starts reselling the products and services it develops as part of its £10bn 21CN investment. It flogged a huge network setup to T-Mobile in July (http://www.theregister.co.uk/2007/07/18/tmobile_bt_deal/) which will see BT manage the kit as well as provide it.

Vodafone's consumer ISP offering is a rebadged version of BT broadband. ®

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