Commsworld forms new partnership with Northumberland rural broadband expert Alncom
October 28, 2021
Commsworld forms new partnership with
Northumberland rural broadband expert Alncom
Commsworld, the UK’s largest independent network provider, is partnering up with rural broadband expert Alncom to transform digital networks and infrastructure throughout Northumberland.
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 Recent achievements include replacing the rural Scottish Borders’ outdated network infrastructure, boosting not only the local economy but also its educational services by turning its secondary schools into hi-tech hubs of learning.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.”
ABOUT COMMSWORLD
Founded in 1994, Edinburgh-headquartered Commsworld is the operator of the largest privately-owned network in the UK, propelling it towards the top of the UK’s provider rankings. As well as Edinburgh, it has offices in Glasgow and Aberdeen with more than 100 staff operating across public and private sector contracts.
Commsworld supports thousands of the UK’s leading organisations, both in public and private sectors with their telecommunications. It has grown rapidly in recent years, fuelled by its involvement with four of Scotland’s largest public sector ICT contracts, with local authorities in Glasgow, Edinburgh, Renfrewshire, and the Scottish Borders.
Commsworld has been ranked at No23 in the 21st annual Sunday Times Profit Track league table. The Profit Track ranks Britain’s private companies with the fastest-growing profits over the past three years. You can view the league table here
Commsworld was recently placed 27th in the list of top 50 privately-owned tech companies in the UK at the Megabuyte 50 Awards. The annual awards recognise the performance of technology companies across the UK, taking into account their growth, profitability, cash conversion, and size – decided by an independent body of adjudicators.
Commsworld has also been listed on the lucrative G-Cloud 12 UK government telecoms and network framework for the fourth year running. Since its inception, there has been £6.2bn worth of sales through the G-Cloud framework, with the majority of the business coming from the UK government. Around 44% of that spend has been awarded to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).