Capita, Updata Infrastructure, SSE Enterprise Telecoms agree to share UK fixed lines
UK network and data center services company SSE Enterprise Telecoms, a unit of SSE Plc, says it has reached an agreement with fellow communications services suppliers Capita plc and its Updata Infrastructure arm to share fixed-line infrastructure.
The seven-year deal will expand the footprints of all three companies. For example, SSE says it will be able to offer its more than 300 IT and telecommunications service provider customers twice the coverage, expanding from 250,000 business postcodes to more 500,000. The agreement shortens SSE's Project Edge network expansion program by two years, reduces the cost of the program by at least 50%, and adds 350 BT exchanges to the SSE network footprint.
Updata and Capita, meanwhile, will connect each of their eight regional data centers to SSE's 13,700-km national fiber-optic network (see "SSE Telecoms links UK data centers with Ciena 100G"). The connectivity expands the service options for the two companies' government and corporate clients.
"It is extremely exciting to be announcing such a significant agreement to the IT and telecoms market," said Colin Sempill, managing director at SSE Enterprise Telecoms. "Network and infrastructure sharing models like this are commonplace in mobile telephony markets, but very unusual on this scale in fixed-line telecoms. Doubling our service footprint in a relatively short period of time will make us one of the largest fixed-line telecoms providers in the UK at a stroke. When combined with our reputation for reliability and service delivery performance, it will allow many thousands more businesses to benefit from our brand of high-capacity, high-availability services more cost-effectively than ever before."
"We're very happy to announce our new commercial arrangement with SSE Enterprise Telecoms, which will enable each party to address new market opportunities," added Béatrice Butsana-Sita, Updata's managing director. "It's very important to us that our customers gain access to the kind of robust, scalable, high-capacity networking fabric that SSE provides nationally. Connecting our assets together in a way that allows each to share the benefits of the other just made sense. Specifically, this will allow us to provide dedicated networking services to enterprise-sized clients who need connectivity in all corners of the UK."
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