As one of the UK’s fastest-growing connectivity providers, we have been continuously focused on broadening our UK network over the past few years. Our latest project is a significant expansion between Preston and Blackpool, which will help us broaden our high capacity network across the north west – and make connections far beyond that.
With the potential for transatlantic subsea cabling routes connecting into the Lancashire coastline, digital behemoths such as the FAMGA organisations (Facebook, Amazon, Microsoft, Google, Apple) may well have the ability to easily route their traffic into our network, giving access first to the UK, then on to any desired European locations. This makes it an ideal connectivity option for data-hungry content providers and hyperscalers.
The expansion comes hot on the heels of our recent £10.5m full fibre construction project in collaboration with Aberdeenshire County Council, in addition to the announcement that we’ll be more than doubling our UK network, unbundling a further 259 BT Exchanges by the end of 2021. Designed to enable delivery of public services and support local economic activity, both projects are good examples of futureproofing regions and the UK more generally to meet the connectivity demands of today and tomorrow.
A single supplier strategic partnership
The Neos Networks network is well-placed to support hyperscalers looking for scalable, robust, high capacity UK connectivity and network solutions to deliver services across their fast-paced, ever-expanding market.
Hyperscalers can also benefit from partnering with a single end-to-end connectivity supplier that can meet all their network infrastructure needs, reducing costly and inefficient multi-vendor relationships.
Our expansion in Lancashire enhances this network significantly, and we will continue to broaden our fibre core network reach across the UK, connecting into strategic landing stations that are critical for hyperscalers looking to extend into mainland Europe and across the Atlantic.
UK connectivity and beyond
The digital economy plays a huge role in business today, making it crucial for as many people as possible to have access to high speed, high capacity connectivity. We’re proud to say we’re still right on schedule to hit our target of unbundling 550 BT exchanges by the end of 2021 – maintaining progress despite the disruptions and challenges of COVID-19. Classed as a Critical National Infrastructure (CNI) project, the push to double our unbundled BT exchanges in just over a year is bringing high capacity fibre services to the doorsteps of approximately 80% of UK business premises.
On completion, we’ll be able to offer a high capacity Dark Fibre network spanning 30,000+km to facilitate the UK’s high capacity digital-first ambitions, including the speed, performance and reach required for 5G networks. We’ll be offering 10Gbps and 100Gbps Ethernet, Optical services, Dedicated Internet Access services and more as standard from the newly unbundled exchanges to businesses across the nation. This will aid in the deployment of such pervasive connectivity technologies as seamless video streaming, immersive virtual and augmented reality, and the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT).
The new route from Blackpool to Preston is part of this ongoing commitment. The enterprise-grade connectivity services made possible by this expansion will not only be available to global enterprises and service providers, but also to local businesses, giving a boost to the entire region and futureproofing business connectivity.
Building for the future
Our focus has always been on providing class-leading connectivity and data centre services that deliver very high performance, cost efficiency and a competitive edge. Our private telecoms network currently extends over 20,000km and our 90 commercial data centres span the UK. Our extensive telecoms and data centre expertise offers commercial security with unrivalled in-house engineering resource.
We maintain these services to ensure that, wherever you are in the UK, you have access to the connectivity services your business needs. Our work to connect Blackpool to Preston and beyond is the latest example of that. We’ll continue to invest in expanding high capacity connectivity for the benefit of businesses, large and small, across the UK.
