28 01732 759725 continued... CONNECTIVITY that’s six providers that people can go to for service. We all need competition, but that's too many. There needs to be a bit more collaboration amongst fibre infrastructure providers. “Lastly, internet connectivity is a utility like electricity, water and gas. Yet, it's not treated as such. Unlike the utilities, we have to pay full VAT, which we have to pass on to the customer. There needs to be some legislation or government action that allows us to deliver a better product at a more affordable price, especially for the underprivileged or digitally excluded.” These changes are beyond Gigabit Network’s control, but this year it plans to help in other ways. “As anybody who’s sold connectivity knows, the route to cash is quite long, especially when you're talking about dedicated fibre, like Ethernet products, where it can take as long as 12 to 16 weeks for a product to be installed. This year, we'll be introducing Ethernet over FTTP which will allow us to deploy Ethernet services in 10 to 20 days, significantly shortening the route to cash for the channel partner.” In 2024, Gigabit Networks will also be looking to expand its network and recruit more channel partners in new and existing territories. “If you're buying connectivity or you're using connectivity for your over the top services you deserve to get the fastest and most reliable product at the best price. If you're looking for that personal service, where you can pick up the phone and talk to your account manager and you’re not just a number, we want to speak to you. We want to help your business grow and in doing so grow our business too. It's a symbiotic relationship. We're looking for true partners and the chance to help you achieve your ambitions.” www.gigabitnetworks.co.uk This is an edited version of a conversation between James Goulding, Editor of Technology Reseller, and David Yates, CEO and co-founder of Gigabit Networks. You can see the interview in full at www.technologyreseller.co.uk. much denser than business properties and are easier to get to. With a street of houses, you’ve got a very small dig to get to each one, whereas if you’ve got a business park you have to lay quite extensive infrastructure to reach each business. That’s one of the challenges facing us.” Another is the need to get consent from landlords to put fibre into a building, so called wayleaves, which can cause significant problems and delays for fibre infrastructure providers. “We have introduced, via some of our partners, a permission to work scheme, where the tenant can sign off for permission to work, which, in most cases, shortens the lead time from 12 to14 weeks to 10 or under. That doesn't sound like an awful lot, but those two to four weeks make a big difference to cash flow for a reseller,” explains Yates. “One of the other things we're struggling with is the amount of overbuild that is happening. I was looking at a town in Kent where there are five alternative network providers, plus Openreach, Better connectivity essential for growth More than four in 10 UK businesses (42%) regard moving to higher capacity connectivity in the next two years as essential to their growth plans — rating it either ‘integral’ or ‘greatly important’ to their future success. This is one of the headline findings of the UK Business Gigabit Connectivity Report produced by business ethernet backhaul provider Neos Networks, with insights from decision-makers in 160 UK companies. Amongst businesses that had invested in connectivity in the last 24 months, nearly one in eight (11.2%) stated that doing so had had a direct impact on business profitability, with 98.3% seeing indirect impacts on productivity, staff retention and client collaboration. Top reasons for investing in higher capacity connectivity are increased computer power (22.4%), operational developments creating more data and higher capacity requirements (21.2%) and greater device usage for each employee (11.6%). One in 10 UK businesses are actively looking to increase their connectivity to better integrate AI into their processes. One in five states that their existing internet speeds are already ‘insufficient’ for everyday operations. Over half (55.6%) say they have risked losing a client or customer as a consequence of poor internet connectivity, speed or reliability. Commenting on the finding, Simon Willmott, Director of Wholesale Business Development at Neos Networks, said: “The business appetite for high-capacity connectivity is clear, and this provides a great opportunity for AltNet providers. As businesses strive to keep pace with technology, companies in underserved rural and competitive urban areas will naturally require greater network capacity. “While the UK government has backed network investment with Project Gigabit, they must now go further in making connectivity expansion commercially viable – with grant incentives, access rights and wayleaves. Supporting AltNets to unlock the next stage of network expansion in this way can only be positive for UK business and solidify the UK’s position as world leaders in the digital economy.” When business leaders were asked if their business had felt a notable impact from the government’s Project Gigabit rollout, just 52.5% said yes. https://neosnetworks.com/resources/ blog/uk-business-gigabit-connectivityreport/ Has the UK government’s Project Gigabit had a notable impact on improving access to business internet connectivity spped and reliability Simon Willmott
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