County BT centre set for busy time

A BT centre in Shropshire is gearing up for a busy night with the finals of two high-profile television programmes being decided by telephone votes.

BT's National Network Management Centre near Oswestry is the eyes and ears of the UK's communications network and staff will be busy working behind the scenes as Britain's Got Talent and I'd Do Anything take to our screens.

Staff at the centre ensure the smooth running of phone lines and communications networks around the country, 24-hours-a-day, 365 days of the year - and especially during large televotes like ITV's Britain's Got Talent - using what is believed to be the largest video information wall in Europe.

At the peak of voting in last year's final of Britain's Got Talent, the BT network handled more than 100,000 telephone calls a minute, believed to be a new record for a single televote.

Hugh Morris, a network manager at the centre, said:"There will be exceptionally high levels of calls at certain times, but the network's huge capacity and highly sophisticated systems should ensure that all our customers experience a reliable, good quality service whenever they are making a call.

"Extra people will be on duty at our network centre here in Oswestry constantly monitoring the level of calls."