Intelligent Data Centres Issue 28 | Page 58

Proximity announces strategic relationship with ITS Technology Group to deliver fibre network

intelligent INFRASTRUCTURE

Proximity Data Centres , one of the UK ’ s fastest growing regional Edge colocation data centre providers , has announced a strategic marketing partnership with ITS , a leading UK wholesale provider of full fibre infrastructure . The partnership follows the announcement of a joint venture between ITS , the Liverpool City Region ( LCRCA ) and construction partner , NGE . The joint venture will deliver a 212km high-capacity dark fibre network across Liverpool City Region ’ s six local authority areas and is a programme that will support and accelerate Digital Transformation across the region . As part of the initial phase , a resilient fibre backhaul network is being built , connecting three transatlantic cables and major economic clusters in each of the local authority areas .

Proximity Data Centres will include the fibre infrastructure as a core component of its north-west UK go-to-market colocation data centre strategy which has recently seen the opening of two strategically located Edge colocation data centres in Liverpool and Chester . The company has a growing pipeline of enterprise business , cloud provider and content delivery organisations requiring additional colocation capacity to enable them to move time-sensitive data and applications closer to customers and users .
John Hall , Managing Director – Colocation , Proximity Data Centres , said : “ Diverse , high-speed carrier fibre networks connected to high-quality Edge colocation data centres like Proximity ’ s are going to be essential for ensuring thousands of

A RESILIENT FIBRE BACKHAUL NETWORK IS BEING BUILT , CONNECTING THREE TRANSATLANTIC CABLES AND MAJOR ECONOMIC CLUSTERS IN EACH OF THE LOCAL AUTHORITY AREAS .

businesses in the Liverpool City Region get reliable access to low latency , highly responsive applications and services . The dark fibre infrastructure is pivotal to all of this and we are therefore delighted to support ITS in bringing this game-changing project to fruition .
“ Moving IT systems and cloud hosting into secure data centres located much closer to target customers and users will allow businesses and industries to scale IT resources to suit actual demand . This will reduce data transit costs by not having to backhaul large volumes of traffic to data centres hundreds of miles away , while at the same time maximising business agility , operational efficiencies and security .”
Daren Baythorpe , CEO of ITS , said : “ There is pent up demand from carriers looking to light up new fibre in this digitally underserved region . Once completed , the network we are building will enable them and ISPs to provision gigabit capable broadband services to local authorities , businesses and consumers across the six local authority areas . This comprises around 40,000 businesses and a combined population of over 1.5 million .
“ Our joint marketing initiative with Proximity will help drive and support demand in the region from existing and new businesses for world-class digital infrastructure , attracting more carriers , boosting local investment and creating more jobs along the way .”
Proximity ’ s growing network of UK regional Edge data centres will expand to 20 sites . This will enable the company to offer UK-wide coverage with all its Edge data centres selected for their proximity to major conurbation areas . Its scalable Edge facilities meet individual customer requirements , from specific regional data centre services through to multi-site rollouts . ◊
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