Telus Communications has won a CAD176 million (USD140.6 million) seven-year contract with the Canadian federal government's Shared Services Canada to provide VoIP telephony, instant messaging and desktop videoconferencing. The deal is in conjunction with a federal decision to axe 80,000 traditional landlines in favour of VoIP; Shared Services Canada already has more than 100,000 VoIP lines in use, the Calgary Herald reports, adding that Ottawa began ditching landlines around five years ago when it gave 120,000 employees in the National Capital Region a choice between a mobile phone or a desk phone, but not both. ​

Early last week the federal government decided to switch its main mobile services provider from Rogers Communications to Bell Canada Enterprises (BCE). Bell won a six-year CAD432 million deal covering 230,000 mobile devices in more than 100 departments and agencies, with service plans including unlimited national long-distance calls and flexible data plans. Ottawa named Rogers as a standby secondary supplier in the event of any service shortfalls.​