Stena Drilling lays the pipelines for IP communications

London, UK, 4th September, 2006 – Mitel®, the trusted provider of IP communications solutions, today announced that Stena Drilling has deployed a Mitel IP communications infrastructure at its Aberdeen headquarters as the first stage in a planned global roll-out to its five rigs and satellite offices throughout Asia, Australia, Africa and other international locations.  The solution has been designed and implemented by Nessco, a Mitel Platinum Solution provider.

Stena Drilling, one of the world’s foremost independent drilling contractors, installed a Mitel 3300 IP Communications Platform (ICP) with IP-DECT handsets soon to deliver wireless communication to oil rigs and improve business processes. Driven by its desire to bring its telecoms management in-house for improved efficiency, the Mitel solution replaces a managed service. 

Sharon McLaughlin, IT manager at Stena Drilling, said: “We struggled for months with our old PBX system, which lacked the level of flexibility we required. Our drilling rigs frequently move and we need a system that allows us to adapt our telephony systems quickly and easily. Previously we were constrained by our traditional system and often found ourselves waiting days for an engineer to re-programme headsets and telephone ports, which was neither cost-effective or time efficient. We had also become frustrated that our old system didn’t support the video conferencing equipment we had invested in.  We now have the flexibility to make moves, adds and changes ourselves and can integrate new applications quickly and easily.”

Stena Drilling expects to see a considerable reduction in cost and time spent on external engineers.  The long-term plan is to implement mobile working. This will enable senior managers, who frequently travel between sites and work from home to benefit from IP communications providing them with the same functionality that they have in the office at home.

Graham Bevington, managing director of Mitel UK, said: “Many companies make do with telecoms that no longer fulfil their needs due to the mistaken perception that moving to IP will be an upheaval. Stena Drilling has taken control of its communications and is now benefiting from increased functionality, flexibility and cost-savings. Having implemented a Mitel IP communications solution they can reap the benefits of having a robust and scalable infrastructure that can be quickly and easily deployed when needed.”

In the next six months Mitel IP wireless phones will be rolled out to Stena Drilling’s five fully submersible rigs and its new mobile rig – Drill Max. These rigs are operational across the world and IP communications will enable the workers on the rigs to communicate more cost-effectively with the Aberdeen-based HQ and internally on the rig. Effective, reliable and robust communications are vital for Stena Drilling as much of their daily communications comprise health and safety briefings and information on purchasing that can not be compromised.

As one of the few companies to offer mobile drilling, Stena Drilling will increase its competitive advantage with the ability to seamlessly communicate with staff on its rigs wherever they are.

About Mitel
Mitel is a leading provider of integrated communications solutions and services for business customers. Mitel’s voice-centric IP-based communications solutions consist of a combination of telephony hardware and software that integrate voice, video and data communications with business applications and processes. These solutions enable our customers to realize significant cost benefits and to conduct their business more efficiently and effectively by enabling enhanced communications, information sharing and collaboration within a business and with customers, partners and suppliers. Mitel is headquartered in Ottawa, Canada, with offices, partners and resellers worldwide. For more information, visit www.mitel.com

About Stena Drilling
Stena Drilling, a wholly owned subsidiary of Stena AB, Gothenburg, Sweden is one of the world's foremost independent drilling contractors.

In 1989 and 1996 Stena acquired Houlder Marine Drilling and Ben Line Steamers / Atlantic Drilling, respectively; and with them, history and pedigree dating back to the mid-1970s. The acquisitions were strategic in providing Stena Drilling, not only with worthy drilling units, but also with staff and personnel, who brought invaluable operational experience and success into the Company. For more information please visit www.stena-drilling.com.

About Nessco
Nessco Limited is a leading global provider of communication solutions and services to businesses worldwide. Founded in 1979, Nessco Ltd is a privately owned company with over 140 employees. Since its conception, Nessco Limited has acquired an enviable reputation amongst its partners and clients for service excellence, innovation and industry expertise. On the Board of Directors is Tom Smith (Managing Director), Austin Davidson (Director) and Martin Sinclair (Non Executive Director). For more information please visit www.nessco.co.uk.

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Media contacts:
Lindsay McAloon, 0117 906 4525, lmcaloon@brayleino.co.uk
Nina Dally, 0870 909 7608, nina_dally@mitel.com