Network providers cannot propose cost savings that could be made by network sharing, highlighting it as a possible option, A new survey by MLL Telecom has revealed.

However, many organisations are unable to implement cost savings because of security concerns, according to an expert with the company.

Eddie Minshull, the chief executive officer of MLL Telecom, said a secure way for local government organisations to share network services without compromising security or performance was needed, and the best way to do this is to create a network dedicated to each separate community.

This is because it has advantages over general-purpose virtual private networks as it can provide a customised community network, giving the users increased powers.

He concluded: "Performance levels can be guaranteed for critical traffic, such as the police and emergency services, and security for restricted traffic can be assured."

Last week, it was revealed that the US government, and soon Britain's top dogs, will target leading hackers and use them to defend security gaps in any systems created by people trying to get into systems from elsewhere in the world.

In a recent survey of SMEs for Connect, the two most important benefits of outsourcing were guaranteed response times and allowing in-house IT staff to concentrate on more strategic issues.