Member Article

Making a fuss about fibre for Huddersfield businesses

CityFibre is the largest independent provider of pure fibre optic network infrastructure in the UK. CityFibre design, build, own and operate gigabit speed, pure-fibre networks in mid-sized cities and major towns across the country, including Huddersfield, Dewsbury and Batley. The CityFibre networks provide transformational gigabit speed connectivity (up to 1000Mbps) as standard – speeds that would otherwise be unaffordable to all but the largest businesses.

What’s more, the network runs at symmetrical speeds. This means that the CityFibre network is as fast at uploading large files as it is at downloading them. This is possible because their networks are pure-fibre. Unlike other ‘fibre’ services, delivered using technology known as Fibre-to-the-Cabinet (FTTC), there is no copper cable to slow your connection down. With pure-fibre from the exchange right through to your business premises you get the most advanced digital connection possible. It’s like driving on a motorway, then having to go on A roads and country roads to get to your office – you get caught in traffic and you slow down. With a CityFibre connection the motorway takes you right to your front door.

Their mission? To bring the digital infrastructure of the UK into the 21st Century and help as many business as possible benefit from an infrastructure that is fit for purpose and one which supports their growth and ambitions.

Fibre-to-the-premises is not a new idea, it’s just very new to the wider UK market. Our dependence on the internet is matched only by countries such as South Korea, The Netherlands, Denmark and Sweden – all of which have benefitted from widespread deployment of pure fibre optic network connections over the past decade. However, such connections have remained practically non-existent in the UK for all but large business customers and a handful of fortunate customers. We are changing that.

Akamai’s authoritative “State of the Internet” report shows that the UK ranks 11th globally in terms of average internet connection speeds, with only 30% registering an average of 10Mbps or more. In contrast, 21% said they register average connection speeds of 4Mbps or less. Running cloud services, VoIP and remote back up at these speeds becomes a practical impossibility. A whopping 69% of businesses believe broadband is restricting their business today (Atkins Survey, 2011). Well no more, a pure-fibre connection enables a business to access all these services and more – all of which save them time and money.

Businesses are used to settling for poor and expensive internet connectivity because they think there are no other options. CityFibre are here to make sure that businesses are aware that there is an alternative and they no longer need to sit behind the buffer. The digital landscape is changing and we’re proving to be a disruptive player in the market.

In 2014-2015 the Government ran a voucher scheme to help businesses boost their connectivity. The huge take up of this scheme proves how starved businesses are of good connectivity and evidence suggests that businesses who upgraded theirs saw an average of £1,300 per year increase in profits.

A gigabit connection is a sure way to future proof your internet provision. Technology is constantly evolving and becoming more sophisticated and businesses need to keep up to remain competitive. Without a solid infrastructure to support these technologies, businesses will get left behind.

Visit the KirkleesCORE website today for more information.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Katrina Cliffe .