Commsworld has been enjoying consistent growth with its business-focused next-generation fibre optic network – and is now seeking to expand its broadband service into even more communities and schools across the UK.  By Anthony Harrington

Edinburgh-BASED Commsworld, the specialist fibre optic network provider, has enjoyed enviable growth over the past two years and is winning contracts north and south of the border. 

Bruce Strang, Commsworld chief operating officer, points out that the company is now one of the UK’s top network providers. The company’s latest figures show a 20% increase in turnover, from £20.6 million in 2020 to £24.1 million. Gross profits are up 60%.

The company’s privately-owned Optical Core Network, the largest in the UK, has been fundamental to this growth. “In June 2020 we completed the rollout of our nationwide ultra-fast fibre network, at a cost of some £10 million,” he notes.

Commsworld’s next-generation network was designed and built specifically for business customers, though it is now being used extensively by schools and communities across Scotland and England. 

“Our network has revolutionised the security and resilience of the digital infrastructure for organisations, offering speeds of up to 200 Gigabits per second,” Strang says.

“We have had some tremendous wins. Our contract with North Lanarkshire Council, for example, means that we are building out some 340 kilometres of fibre optic network. This will provide a Gigabit service to homes throughout the region and will be especially appreciated by rural communities, which, in general, have been very poorly served to date by broadband providers,” he comments.

So far, Commsworld has already built about 130 kilometres of that infrastructure across North Lanarkshire. It expects to complete the full 340-kilometre rollout by July next year. 

One of the factors that allow the new high-speed fibre network to be rolled out so quickly is that wherever possible, Commsworld uses pre-existing ducts already in the ground. “Openreach, BT’s infrastructure provider, already has a tremendous network of ducts in many parts of the UK. 

“We use this where possible and run our cables through their ducts. In North Lanarkshire we will deliver 85% of the infrastructure using this method. Where we can’t we will subcontract the trenching, but we always look to minimise the disruption to local communities,” he comments. 

To reach some rural communities, part at least of the route for a new fibre optic network will need trenching. However, Strang points out that much of this can be done by a tractor pulling special equipment that both digs and lays the fibre in the soft verge alongside the roadway. 

The Herald:

CommsWorld COO Bruce Strang

 

What makes Commsworld unique, Strang notes, is that it is in control of both its own network and the services running on the network. 

It can also layer its services on top of partner networks where smaller network operators have established fibre networks in particular areas.

“We always took to maximise the value we bring to the end customer. If we can achieve a high quality, fast, secure service for customers by partnering, where a provider already has a network in place, we are happy to partner with the provider to upgrade the total offering. 

There are quite a number of new, regional players building out fibre networks in particular areas. There is a huge amount of fibre being laid across the UK which means that there are some great partnering opportunities for Commsworld. 

“We are in a very good position, revenue-wise. The contracts we have with large companies and local authorities are all very long-term, 15 to 20-year contracts. Moreover, we are now winning contracts across the UK. 

“For example, wholesale telecoms network provider FullFibre chose us to provide a 100 Gigabit connection between the Derby Exchange and Telehouse North Two, Europe’s most advanced data centre in London. 

“This connection provides a step change in the capacity needed for people in Derbyshire to access much faster full-fibre broadband through their Internet Service Providers (ISPs). 

“Not only that, we delivered the connection in 18 working days – compared to the industry norms of 45 to 90 working days – because we manage and control the largest privately-funded optical core network in the country.”

Strang is confident that Commsworld still has plenty of room to grow its market share across the UK. 

He points out that a high percentage of current networks still rely for their security on the traditional MPLS (multi-protocol, label switching) technology that is now decades old. 

The much more recent multi-gateway protocol IP routing technology is a superior security and technical solution. 

The company now has engineering skills located across the UK and recruits nationally, not just in Scotland. “We have personnel based in Liverpool and Manchester and engineering resources across the country. 

“If you consider the size and shape of the contracts we are winning, as an organisation of just 140 people, we are clearly doing exceptionally well. Much larger organisations with ten times our headcount, struggle to deliver the quality of service we provide.”

So, how well is Scotland doing when it comes to rolling out broadband services to rural and island communities? In Strang’s view, Scotland still has a long way to go to transition rural communities to fibre and away from services delivered over copper wire.

“The government provides vouchers to broadband and network service providers. There is a lot of money available via these vouchers, but the delivery is very bureaucratic and administrative-heavy,” he says. 

The system works off the basis of the operator claiming a voucher based on the number of homes that have been connected to its network. However, the voucher is only paid when government officials have contacted each and every household and asked them to confirm that they are receiving broadband services of 30 Mbps or better. 
Strang says that this can be a time-consuming process which can lead to knock-on effects for small operators

“It is all too easy for them to run into cashflow problems, since they are spending their resources building out the network, then have potentially long delays before they are recompensed,” he notes. Commsworld’s reserves are strong so this is not a difficulty for the company but it is an impediment to some network providers and is slowing down the build-out of high-speed broadband to rural communities. 

“We think that a better system would be for the Scottish government to base the voucher scheme on the number of homes passed and potentially connectable to the network, rather than the present system,” he notes.

Strang says that he and his colleagues are very confident that Commsworld can continue its present rate of growth through 2023 and beyond. 

“We already have some excellent contracts in place for 2023, such as our contract win to provide high-speed fibre services to Edinburgh’s St. James quarter,” he concludes.

www.commsworld.com