To meet DfES minimum bandwidth targets for its schools on a value-for-money basis, Essex County Council (ECC) chose to find an alternative provider to connect the remaining 350 schools of its rollout project. ECC stipulated a series of key deliverables in its tender including a cost-effective future upgrade path, managed service capabilities and in-built QoS. Within these parameters, its primary objective was to achieve the most cost-effective solution possible.
Challenges
With such a large number of sites to connect, a rapid LLU rollout would be a considerable challenge. The scope of the project concerned an area served by 64 local telephone exchanges, each of which would need to be accessed and unbundled before each site could be connected. IT managers at ECC were also keen to avoid being directly involved in the technical ‘ins and outs’ of the completed network, and wanted to realise a highly resilient solution with clearly defined service level agreements.
Solution
Updata provided a fully managed network by unbundling 64 exchanges and connecting 350 sites with 2Mbps or 8Mbps connections. In instances where last mile copper/DSL connectivity was not technically or economically feasible, Updata established wireless or fibre-based links according to each individual requirement. With the substantial savings achieved, Updata extended the network further to incorporate UTC (Urban Traffic Control) and CCTV nodes, providing continuous managed network services to support ECC’s traffic and surveillance strategies. Further additions to the network are anticipated.