During the FedWAN Day on 18 November, participants were given a clear overview of the current status of the FedWAN project. Governance, monitoring and the mechanism for returning realised savings were also discussed.
Around twenty representatives from ten different government services attended on 18 November for an update from Belnet and Telenet on the FedWAN project.
Current status: where do we stand today?
In the project update, Davina (PMO) explained the status of the FedWAN project, with attention to planned, implemented and migrated sites. This covered not only the progress achieved, but also the challenges that can affect migration. A clear message here: a move requires a proactive approach. Aligning and planning in good time speeds up migrations and prevents escalations.
Savings return mechanism
Our business controller, Jean-Pierre, explained how savings within the FedWAN project are generated and how they are processed afterwards.
After the handover-to-run, Belnet determines the annual allocation needed to keep the remaining WAN activities running. Based on this, the transfer of the allocation to Belnet can be adjusted (in most cases: reduced) and this is validated through a budget conclave.
The savings will then be made available to the organisations, which will be able to decide themselves how to use them—for example, for new projects, the purchase of equipment or other priorities.
FedWAN Service Management
Giovanni (ITSM) outlined the new way of working within Belnet. Since 2025, tickets are handled via the Operations Desk in collaboration with a new partner (Cheops) and the Business Desk.
It was also clarified that Telenet supports Belnet in the rollout by appointing two dedicated SPOCs who are available 24/7. This should speed up the follow-up of operational questions and incidents.
Davina emphasised that cooperation can run even more smoothly if, where possible, dedicated teams are also set up within the various FPSs to align on a regular basis.
A recurring point of attention is access to remote sites, especially where access is not straightforward. Belnet therefore wants to draw up an inventory and develop a clear access procedure, but this requires input and cooperation from each organisation. In this context, the importance of the WAN CPs was also reiterated.
FedONE governance and monitoring
Our Senior Relationship Manager, Frédéric, provided an explanation of the Network Governance Group (NGG) and indicated that interested parties can join.
Further details were provided on the monitoring of Telenet lines, accessible to WAN CPs.
Finally, one of our network engineers gave a detailed explanation of Belnet’s new monitoring tool, which will give organisations better visibility into the performance of their network.
In short, it was a successful morning, with information sharing and networking at its core.