Geo Networks and B4RN bring world class broadband to rural UK
Dark fibre links local distribution network to Manchester Telecity, providing superfast internet speeds of 1Gigabit
London, United Kingdom, 25 July 2012 – Today, leading fibre network provider Geo Networks Ltd (“Geo”) announced a ground-breaking project with Broadband for the Rural North (B4RN, pronounced barn), a not-for-profit, community-led organisation. Geo will support B4RN in delivering world class internet services to rural areas, like the Forest of Bowland and the Lune Valley, in Lancashire. The effort will see Geo provide vital dark fibre which will link B4RN’s local distribution network to a national peering centre at Manchester Telecity, enabling superfast internet speeds of 1 Gigabit for homes and businesses in the Lancashire region.
B4RN was created to bring superfast broadband to the deepest rural parts of the UK; specifically the last 10% – the areas which are unable to benefit from current Government broadband schemes. With the first phase of the roll out scheduled for the beginning of August this year, this project will eventually enable 2,500 properties, across 350 square kms in Lancashire to access broadband at speeds which are faster than most commercial ISPs can offer anywhere in the UK. Geo’s fibre link to Telecity ensures high capacity and high availability. It removes the bottle necks traditionally associated with shared service offerings to guarantee speed and efficiency of internet services to B4RN’s local distribution network.
Barry Forde, Chief Executive, B4RN said, “To ensure this project is viable we have to provide high bandwidth internet. In order to make this happen in a rural area we recognised that we needed to lease dark fibre. We did look at options from other providers but they aren’t viable for us as they can’t provide flexible capacity at a cost effective price. We chose Geo because it runs a first class, open-access network with an excellent reliability record. Leasing its fibre enables us to operate at a carrier level to bring superfast internet speeds to those in the remotest of areas. This will make a real difference to people’s quality of life.”
So far B4RN has not received any Government funding. An excellent example of ‘Big Society’ in action, the money for this £1.86 million project is being raised by the local community who have bought shares in the organisation or pledged support. The project currently has around half of the funding required to complete the planned roll out. In addition, the ‘last mile’ is delivered via trenches dug by the locals themselves. As a testament to the ingenuity of the project, B4RN was recognised by the Internet Service Providers Association, when it was selected as ‘Internet Hero’ of the year, a category which acknowledges organisations responsible for promoting, developing and defending the interests of the Internet industry each year.
Chris Smedley, Chief Executive at Geo said, “This is an extremely exciting project which will see some of the remotest parts of the UK enjoying broadband speeds unrivalled to most of the world’s leading business cities. Leasing Geo’s dark fibre is a genuine, future-proof investment decision for the community, which will benefit from reliable and flexible high-capacity services. As such, we are ideally placed to support this community project and we are looking forward to the network going live.”
About B4RN
Broadband for the Rural North Ltd is a “not for profit” Community Benefit Society. It has been established by people living in the Forest of Bowland AONB and the Lune Valley, with the aim of installing a fibre optic superfast broadband network. The network will be owned, managed and supported by members of the community, providing huge benefits to everyone. B4RN will be financed through a community share offer and through work-shares, where community members are able to buy shares or earn them by carrying out work for B4RN e.g. burying fibre ducting across land. For more information about the project please visit www.b4rn.org.uk.
About Geo
Geo is the only company in the UK solely focused on the designing and building of bespoke dedicated fibre network solutions. Geo’s revolutionary and flexible approach means that for the first time, organisations can own and control their networks, ensuring that security, high bandwidth and resilience are guaranteed. By allowing its customers to directly own and control the underlying optical fibre that is at the heart of their data network, Geo is the only truly open access network provider in the UK. It provides an extensive range of solutions including fully managed networks, dark fibre and co-location services. Geo enables network solutions throughout the UK and in the London area. Customers include mobile operators, service providers, major banks and the public sector. This year Geo was named Vendor of the Year by eGaming Review magazine. The company was a finalist in the 2011 UK Customer Experience Awards, listed as the UK’s 3rd fastest growing telecoms & networking company in the Deloitte Technology Fast 50 list for 2010 and Geo was also shortlisted for the 2010 Sunday Times Tech Track 100: Barclays Corporate Performance Excellence Award. Visit www.geo-uk.net for more information.
