Commsworld, Axians & Juniper Networks in Scotland's Gigabit Revolution as Charlie Boisseau, Commsworld CTO speaks at Juniper Event

4th December 2015

Commsworld CTO, Charlie Boisseauhas been invited to present at Juniper Networks "The Disruptive Decade"Event in London today (Friday 4th December). Along with Rami Rahim, Juniper Networks CEO and a host of other presenters who will discussing the forces of disruption around the IT and network world and the impact this is having. Our own Juniper Networks ambassador Nick Ryce is also in attendance and will be live tweeting from the event, you can follow him at @NetDonkey to follow the events key messages throughout the morning and use #junipersummit.

Press Release:

Leading network systems integrator Axians has been selected by Scottish-based Internet services provider Commsworld to deliver ultra-fast 10-gigabit Internet connectivity as part of a major upgrade to its Fluency network, making this the biggest single investment in the network to date. The additional bandwidth provided for Commsworld puts the company in an advantageous position to capitalise on the continued shift towards a digital economy.

Axians has enabled Commsworld to develop a state-of-the-art network that spans the length and breadth of the U.K., providing a reliable backbone for its next-generation network. Commsworld’s Fluency network operates 21 points of presence (PoPs) in carrier-neutral data centres and has an extensive local-loop-unbundling (LLU) footprint across Edinburgh, Glasgow, Aberdeen and Inverness.

Charlie Boisseau, Commsworld’s CTO, commented: “In the age of fibre optics and next-generation networks, there is no excuse for poor quality Internet services in Scotland – and customers rightly deserve more. Axians has enabled us to create a best-of-breed network based on Juniper Networks® high-performance technology to deliver fast and reliable connections across the country, helping shape the future of Scotland’s Internet community.”

Fluency’s new core network is comprised of SDN-ready Juniper Networks MX480 3D Universal Edge Routers in each of its four core locations in Edinburgh, Glasgow, London and Manchester. In addition, Axians upgraded many of the metro access network nodes in Edinburgh and Glasgow with Juniper’s MX104 3D Universal Edge Routers to increase port capacity and enable multi-10Gb/s capacity over its fully optical backhaul infrastructure.

Gerard Allison, senior vice president EMEA at Juniper Networks said: “Commsworld provides cutting-edge infrastructure solutions for Scotland’s many fast-evolving organisations, helping them provide outstanding online experiences to their customers. Commsworld’s selection of our next-generation MX Series routers via Axians further demonstrates their commitment to network innovation. This deployment helps Commsworld future-proof its business against fast-changing market demands and stay ahead of customer requirements.”

Axians’ experience in designing and deploying carrier-grade networks built on Juniper Networks technology provided the skills and capabilities necessary for the project. Ian Parker, professional services consultant at Axians explained:

“The Fluency network upgrade is a major initiative; the demands posed by the growing number of customers, applications and end-user devices require greater bandwidth, performance and flexibility, without sacrificing reliability in any way.

Therefore, the technical choices are critically important to ensure a secure and reliable end-user experience for the businesses of Scotland. Juniper Networks’ proven MX Series 3D Universal Edge Routers,  which include physical and NFV/VNF-based platforms, were selected to reduce network latency and provide an agile, high-performance and scalable carrier-grade network. We’re delighted to have been involved in such a significant expansion, which promises to positively impact Scotland.”

Commsworld’s Fluency network now forms the vital linchpin for several revolutionary projects with CityFibre, namely in supporting the Edinburgh CORE and Aberdeen CORE, as well as being selected for the City of Edinburgh Council’s wide area network (WAN) in a recent contractual win. Further projects are also in the pipeline, which will see Scotland becoming one of the most digitally-connected countries in the world.