Her Majesty's Government Communication Centre (HMGCC) is a small group tasked to provide electronics and software to support the communication needs of the British Government. It is closely linked with the Foreign & Commonwealth Office and the British intelligence community.

History

It used to have a communications centre at Signal Hill near Gawcott, also in Buckinghamshire. Hanslope Park is just east of the M1. The Midshires Way passes nearby.

Dr John Widdowson was the head of the organisation from 2000-5; from there he moved to GCHQ. Stephen Ball was Chief Executive until 2001. He is now CEO of Lockheed Martin UK.

Structure

The organisation employs approximately 380 personnel and the solutions it provides are bespoke to fit the needs of the government, its organisations, and specifically its intelligence assets. HMGCC is responsible for research and design in the following disciplines:

• Radio frequency engineering
• Signal processing
• Software engineering
• Acoustics
• Audio engineering
• Operating systems
• GUI design
• Embedded systems
• System engineering
• Manufacture and application of microcircuits
• Study of power sources
• Operational research
• Mechanical engineering

See also

• GCHQ
• MI5
• MI6
• Bletchley Park

External links

• Official HMGCC Website
• Hi-res aerial photography (UK Secret Bases, Jan 2007) reveals £30 million expansion project

News items

• Telegraph March 2008