BT has signed a five-year contract with BAE Systems to provide secure connectivity services across the defence group’s global network in 40 countries.

The deal includes an option to extend for up to three years. BT will support BAE Systems’ UK and international operations through its wider network infrastructure.

BAE Systems’ network spans multiple markets and supports staff working in specialist environments. The agreement focuses on secure connectivity for a business operating in defence and related industrial activities.

BT said the work will support access to digital tools and more flexible working across BAE Systems teams. It also linked the contract to demand from organisations in sectors including defence, manufacturing and critical national infrastructure for dependable communications and security services.

The contract follows BT’s launch of a sovereign platform for organisations working in sensitive national roles or facing changing regulatory requirements. That wider push has focused on services for customers that need communications systems built around tighter security and operational controls.

Contract scope

For BAE Systems, the agreement is part of a broader effort to reshape its digital environment. The work is tied to its digital transformation programme and to improving operational efficiency across the business.

Large industrial and defence groups have been reviewing network resilience, security and access to digital systems as more operations rely on connected tools across different sites and countries. In that context, communications contracts are increasingly being tied to broader technology change programmes rather than treated as stand-alone telecoms arrangements.

BT presented the contract as part of its long-running work with organisations that run complex, security-sensitive operations. It said its experience in managing large networks and secure services helped underpin the arrangement with BAE Systems.

Chris Sims set out BT’s view of the network’s role in the partnership.

“Networks are mission-critical to BAE Systems. This partnership is about getting those foundations exactly right, and we have decades of experience delivering secure, complex connectivity for critical organisations that need absolute reliability. By combining our resilient networks with advanced security services, we’re giving BAE Systems a platform they can depend on to support the UK’s security, now and into the future,” said Chris Sims, chief commercial officer, BT Business.

Digital shift

BAE Systems described the contract as part of a wider change to its internal digital estate. Partners will play a central role in helping reshape how staff access systems and work across the organisation.

That reflects a broader trend among large defence and manufacturing businesses, where network design is increasingly tied to productivity, security oversight and the rollout of digital tools across dispersed operations. Companies in those sectors often need to balance tighter controls with demands for easier access to systems in varied working environments.

Dr Mary Haigh outlined BAE Systems’ position on that transition.

“We’re taking a significant step in our transformation of the Digital ecosystem to deliver a secure, insight-led digitally enabled working environment to power operational excellence across BAE Systems. Our partners will play a critical role by unlocking greater agility, pace and innovation across our business,” said Dr Mary Haigh, director digital delivery, BAE Systems.

The CORNERSTONE Photonics Innovation Centre at the University of Southampton has published research on the UK silicon photonics sector, arguing that stronger domestic scale-up infrastructure could boost growth and support sovereign technology development.

A survey of 100 UK-based decision-makers found broad support for expanding domestic manufacturing and prototyping capacity in silicon photonics, which integrates optical components onto silicon chips. It also identified trade barriers and reliance on overseas manufacturing as constraints on growth.

The findings show that 76% of respondents believe better UK scale-up infrastructure would accelerate company growth. Nearly a third, 32%, said high tariff costs were creating barriers to developing silicon photonics prototypes.

Economic analysis by CORNERSTONE researchers suggests a domestic pilot line could add GBP £2.9 billion to the UK economy by 2040 and create about 2,850 jobs. The analysis also links a pilot line to stronger domestic positions in artificial intelligence and quantum technologies.

Domestic demand

The study portrays a sector with strong UK ambition but uneven industrial support. Some 77% of respondents said they are developing or deploying silicon photonics in the UK, or plan to do so, while 64% said they already manufacture abroad or expect to in future.

That split highlights a gap between research and commercial production. More UK fabrication and process support would help retain a larger share of value that currently flows overseas, the study argues.

Two-thirds of respondents, 67%, said they were confident in the UK’s ability to benefit from the silicon photonics opportunity. CORNERSTONE set that against wider expectations for growth in photonics, with the broader UK sector forecast to generate annual output of more than GBP £20 billion.

Silicon photonics has attracted growing attention for its potential use in data centres, optical networks, artificial intelligence systems and quantum technologies. It has also become part of a wider debate over how the UK can build strategic capacity in advanced semiconductor-related industries.

Case for pilot line

A central finding was industry support for a UK pilot line, which would give companies access to mid-stage production support between laboratory work and full commercial manufacturing. In the survey, 74% said such a facility would accelerate innovation and 79% said it would significantly strengthen the UK’s sovereign technology position.

Respondents said a pilot line would also improve quality, speed time to market and reduce reliance on overseas foundries. The responses point to a practical concern among companies that can design and test products but have limited local options when they need to scale production.

The findings align with recent calls for a national photonics roadmap and investment in silicon photonics infrastructure. They also come as international interest in the field rises, including major private investment in the US.

Professor Graham Reed, Director of CORNERSTONE, said: “Global investment in SiPh is accelerating – we’ve seen the scale of ambition from the US, with major federal and private commitments including NVIDIA’s flagship $6bn investments. The UK has the talent, the expertise, and the market opportunity to make substantial gains in the sector, and CORNERSTONE’s market research demonstrates significant demand for domestic pilot line capabilities.”

The research suggests UK companies want to keep more of their development and production activity at home if the industrial base can support it. For policymakers, that frames silicon photonics as both an economic opportunity and a resilience issue.

CORNERSTONE is an open-access silicon photonics prototyping foundry hosted at the University of Southampton, with partners including the University of Glasgow and the Science and Technology Facilities Council. Since 2014, it has fabricated more than 900 photonic integrated circuit designs for more than 125 organisations across 26 countries.

Callum Littlejohns, Deputy Director at CORNERSTONE, said: “2024 projections from Future Markets puts the global SiPh market at least $46.5B by 2035 as demand from AI infrastructure, data centres, and quantum technologies accelerate. Commercialising products is the only way to get a slice of the pie. The case for support from the UK government is straightforward. A domestic pilot line is the logical next step to help companies scale their silicon photonics chips, translating directly into jobs, export revenue, and long-term technological sovereign capability.”

Kao Data has added four strategic partners to its Critical Careers initiative, expanding the women in digital infrastructure programme into its second year.

AVK, Eversheds Sutherland, JLL and Mace Construct have joined founding strategic partner CBRE Data Centre Solutions in backing the scheme through 2026 and 2027. Spa Communications has also come on board as media partner.

Launched by the data centre operator to raise the profile of women working across digital infrastructure, Critical Careers has since developed into a broader platform spanning engineering, operations, sustainability, law, finance, real estate and executive leadership.

The enlarged partner group will support a wider programme of activity, including two new podcast seasons aimed at broadening the initiative’s reach across the sector.

In its first year, Critical Careers featured contributions from 30 women at 28 companies across six continents for its first book. A supporting digital platform generated more than 1.5 million impressions on LinkedIn.

The first podcast season also recorded thousands of downloads and delivered a conversion rate four times higher than the Spotify average. Its audience was 68 per cent female across the UK, US and continental Europe.

Industry reach

The programme reflects a wider push in the data centre market to address representation and recruitment as operators, suppliers and advisers compete for talent. As demand grows for skills in engineering, construction, operations and specialist support functions, digital infrastructure groups have increasingly sought to widen the pool of candidates entering the industry.

Critical Careers has positioned itself as a shared industry effort rather than a single-company campaign. According to Kao Data, the platform now brings together competing operators, hyperscalers, neoclouds and supply chain businesses around a common aim.

Lizzy McDowell, director of marketing at Kao Data and co-founder of Critical Careers, said the initiative’s role had grown well beyond its original scope.

“Critical Careers began as a genuine celebration of women in digital infrastructure, and the response across the industry made it clear that the work had a role to play well beyond any single organisation. Having CBRE Data Centre Solutions, AVK, Eversheds Sutherland, JLL and Mace Construct as strategic partners provides us with the endorsement needed to expand the Critical Careers mission, who it reaches, how it shapes the industry’s future and the lasting impact we can have,” McDowell said.

Visibility and hiring

The initiative has already influenced recruitment, with women moving into digital infrastructure roles after engaging with its content. That points to an effort to use storytelling and career visibility to attract applicants who may not otherwise have considered the sector.

Joyce Wady, creative director of Critical Careers, said visibility remains central to that approach.

“Through the conversations I’ve had with women across the Critical Careers books and podcast, one thing has become very clear. Access to this industry does not start with a job description, it starts with visibility. When you can see what careers in digital infrastructure actually look like, including the roles, journeys and people behind them, it becomes much easier to imagine yourself within it.

What we are doing with Critical Careers is turning that visibility into belief. By opening up how careers really take shape, we are challenging outdated perceptions and showing that women belong in this industry and are already building long-term, successful careers within it. The more visible these stories become, the more realistic and achievable that future is for others coming through,” Wady said.

The addition of legal, property, construction and technical service groups to the partner roster also underlines how data centre recruitment extends beyond core engineering and operations roles. As campuses expand and projects become more complex, companies across the supply chain are seeking workers in disciplines ranging from development and real estate to compliance and project delivery.

For Kao Data, the broader coalition gives Critical Careers backing from several parts of that ecosystem at a time when the digital infrastructure industry is under pressure to show it can attract a more diverse workforce. The initiative’s first-year audience figures and the addition of five backers suggest that message is gaining wider support across the sector.