The QEII Conference Centre is one of the most IT intelligent buildings in the UK and will be launching two major developments at the show - the installation of a new telephone system, and the upgrading of its IT infrastructure.

The new telephone system allows the telephone network to run on the same data cables as the Centre's Internet and network connections, offering a more versatile and cost-effective service to clients. Following the upgrades to its IT infrastructure, the Centre has increased its wireless network bandwidth speeds from 11Mbytes to 54Mbytes, allowing the QEIICC to become an Internet 'Hot Spot' site.

Said Stephen Norcliffe, Queen Elizabeth II Conference Centre commercial director: "The Centre is renowned for being an AV/IT intelligent building and one of our competitive advantages is our technology infrastructure. We were one of the first public buildings to install a wireless network and since then we have continued to advance our technological competitiveness. These latest investments in IT and telephony will provide our clients with high quality solutions to their communication requirements at reduced cost.

"We are pleased to be launching our technological developments at Confex 2005 which is the ideal show for our purposes - it's in our home city, reaches our target audience and, as it starts the new year, the timing is perfect"

The new telephone system is being installed in two phases and the Centre has worked in partnership with consultants, Hyder Consulting, and telecoms solutions provider, Xpert Communications. The first phase saw the installation, over the last three months, of new switches providing 'Voice over IP' telephone calls, connecting calls over data cables. This provides clients with more features on their phones such as 'Directory Lookup', 'Caller ID' and pre-configured shortcut keys for essential numbers. Meanwhile, the Centre has retained much of the function of the old ISDX telephone system so that it can cater for any client requirements. As a result it continues to provide modem PDQ lines, as well as ISDN/2 lines, whenever and wherever clients require them.

The next phase of the project is to re-cable the entire building, using the latest cabling technologies. This will be undertaken in August 2005 and will enable the QEII Conference Centre to provide a high quality of service to all network users wherever they are in the building and with whatever IT/telephone solution they require. During this phase, the Centre will move more fully towards converged voice and data, allowing the QEII Conference Centre to pass onto clients the considerable cost savings made on telephone call charges.

Meanwhile, Internet 'Hot Spotting' means that the QEIICC can provide clients and delegates with wireless Internet access at broadband speeds.

Using SPARK(tm) Intelligent Access Point Management systems and MCI, the QEIICC's broadband internet supplier, existing access points have been upgraded and configured for maximum flexibility for users. Clients can decide on bandwidth parameters, accessibility areas or whether to provide attendees with free access to their website and other online resources throughout the duration of an event. Alternatively, occasional users can make use of the facility by buying time segments from the QEIICC's Business Centre, or via a secure online payment gateway, for unrestricted high bandwidth access.

The Queen Elizabeth II Conference Centre (QEIICC) is a premier purpose-built venue in a prestigious location in the heart of London. The QEIICC is an executive agency of the office of the Deputy Prime Minister and is uniquely situated against the stunning backdrop of Big Ben, Westminster Abbey, The Houses of Parliament and The London Eye.