The Edinburgh-headquartered company is joining forces with Alnwick-based Alncom to give businesses and organisations in the remotest parts of the county the chance to enjoy significantly enhanced broadband connectivity, bandwidth and resilience.
This would be achieved by giving them access to Commsworld’s nationwide Optical Core network, with connections to superfast 10 Gigabit connectivity directly to their premises.
Managing Director of Alncom, Stephen Pinchen, said: “This is a significant development for Alncom. Northumberland is home to remote communities with the highest volume of cottage and ‘table-top’ industries in the UK. It’s a transformative move, literally life changing for our customers and will really help bridge the digital divide.”
Commsworld has built a huge track record of success in radically modernising public sector networks. Recent achievements include replacing the rural Scottish Borders’ outdated network infrastructure, boosting not only the local economy but also its educational services by turning its secondary schools into hi-tech hubs of learning.
Last year it completed the build of its full-fibre internet connectivity to rural towns and villages in Renfrewshire in record time as part of infrastructure being delivered through a £15m Connectivity as a Service framework contract signed with Renfrewshire Council. This gave businesses in desperate need of quality, cost-effective Fibre To The Premises (FTTP) access to up to 10 Gigabit connectivity.
In 2021 Commsworld made history by becoming the first network operator to be on every one of the UK’s eight internet exchanges when it joined NCL-IX, a new interconnection point for data transfer from the USA to Northern Europe in the North East of England, at Newcastle’s Stellium Datacentre.
Meanwhile, Alncom has rapidly developed its footprint not only across Northumberland but also North East England throughout 2021 after securing private investment from Railsite Telecom and funding from the UK’s Gigabit Broadband Voucher Scheme to revolutionise broadband across its service area, strengthening Alncom’s position as a rural broadband leader.
Faced with frequent logistical challenges in some of the country’s most inhospitable areas, Pinchen and his team have developed a ‘get it done’ approach, going above and beyond to connect even the most challenging of remote rural locations.
Alncom has built a Gigabit-ready, full-fibre network and partnered with US tech firm Adtran to complete the project. Stephen Pinchen continued: “This new partnership with Commsworld will further enhance its access to further full-fibre networks across Northumberland and the North East of England.”
Bruce Strang, Commsworld’s Chief Operating Officer, said: “We are delighted to be partnering up with Alncom. Much like us, Alncom is growing at a phenomenal rate, continuing to expand its footprint through organic and inorganic growth, and enhancing its customer offerings.
“Our partnership will result in a step change in the delivery of digital services to the harder-to-reach rural areas. We have the largest privately-funded Optical Core network in the UK with the capability to provide a reliable, high-speed network that is affordable to all those in need of it, no matter where they are geographically.
“As a result, we can provide the flexibility to layer on the latest products that can deliver real value and outcomes to customers in both the public and private sector. Working together we can create a dynamic, modern, robust and resilient digital network for Northumberland and beyond.”
