Medibank Private has awarded a five-year, $72 million managed network services contract to Telstra, bringing substantial voice, mobile and contact centre work back to the company.

Telstra said the deal strengthens an existing relationship between the company and Medibank Private which it says will deliver both cost savings and customer service improvements.

“Medibank Private has an excellent relationship with Telstra and our retail network - the largest of any private health insurer in Australia - will experience the biggest improvements,” said Medibank Private managing director George Savvides.

“The upgrades in speed and reliability which will be delivered through Telstra's Next Generation networks, means our retail arm will be able to serve our members better.”

Telstra chief Sol Trujillo said the deal meant Medibank Private was moving from multiple providers to one supplier - Telstra.

“Securing this business is an important win for Telstra. This demonstrates the superiority of Telstra's mobile, IP, unified communications and contact centre solution offerings,” Mr Trujillo said.

The innovative contact centre technology would let Medibank Private provide members with convenient and effective services online or by more traditional telephone interaction.

The enterprise-wide solution is delivered via unified communications combining voice and data across the same network, the companies said.

Medibank Private is embarking on a showcase of this unified communications technology through its new 120-person site at Docklands in Melbourne, due to go live in August this year.