Bangalore: Progeon Limited the business process outsourcing (BPO) subsidiary company of Infosys Technologies Limited on April 10 announced that it has been chosen by BT, one of the world's leading provider of telecommunications services, as one of its two preferred suppliers to provide BPO services from India, according to an official press release.

Under the framework contract, Progeon will provide a wide range of services to BT, including back-office processing and inbound and outbound calls, the release said.

Progeon is in the process of establishing one of the newest BT "next generation contact centres" (NGCC) in Bangalore, adhering to strict standards laid down by BT on infrastructure, facilities, health and safety and technology. Initially, a dedicated telecom link of about 17 Mbps will be established between Progeon premises in Bangalore and BT's co-locations in the UK, the release said.

Under the "framework" contract, Progeon will initially execute work for BT directories and over time this may be extended to include a wider range of work. BT Retail is investing in a high capacity communications switch to be located at Bangalore. The provision of directory enquiries services will be the largest and most complex implementation of a voice capability in the country, with call volumes likely to be in the region of several million calls per month, the release said.

Progeon's managing director and CEO Akshaya Bhargava has said, "We are delighted at winning this business from BT Retail. Directory enquiry services require very significant infrastructure, meticulous planning, flawless execution, complex cultural training and very tight operations management to achieve some of the most exacting performance standards in the world. This deal will bring many of the core competencies of Progeon and Infosys to the forefront and we will strive to exceed the expectations of a customer as sophisticated and demanding as BT."

Pierre Danon, chief executive officer of BT Retail said, "The contract to provide us with services in India was put out to competitive tender. Prospective partners were assessed against a detailed set of criteria and it was agreed that Progeon was well suited to our requirements."

With the addition of BT, Progeon now has clients in the financial services and telecom sectors, to whom it provides a wide variety of transaction processing and related services, the release said.