SSE Enterprise Telecoms further extends 100Gbps capable network across the UK

Aiming to deliver higher capacity connectivity across England, Scotland and Wales and support the ever-increasing capacity demands of UK businesses, connectivity provider SSE Enterprise Telecoms has added eight datacentres to its network, with four existing datacentres upgraded.

According to IDC’s Global datasphere forecast (May 2020), more than 59 zettabytes of data will be processed globally in 2020 with enterprise data demands playing a considerable role in that year-on-year increase in consumption.

The datacentres will extend SSE’s reach to more than 90 datacentres nationwide, offering access to a reliable, high-capacity network which the firm said is critical for enterprises to be able to carry out everyday operations successfully.

The eight datacentres are located in England, Scotland and Wales, including ASK4 in Sheffield, AQL DC2 and DC5 in Leeds, SCC and Six Degrees in Birmingham, DataVita and Pulsant in Glasgow, and Next Generation Data in Newport. All are live and available for service immediately.

The business has also upgraded Global Switch 2, Interxion Hanbury Street in London, LD5 in Slough, and Kilburn House in Manchester to facilitate 100Gbps and 10Gbps Ethernet services as standard.

One of the key tasks that the datacentres will aim to fulfil is to facilitate regional and access network requirements, given that many companies need high capacity connectivity to handle large data transfers from the edge to the core.

SSE Enterprise Telecoms’ datacentres will be connected to its national network of unbundled exchanges – an offering the company believes will help meet the capacity demands of its customers.

SSE added that the combination of Optical 100Gbps and Ethernet 10Gbps services gives companies scope to cost-effectively tap into high bandwidth connectivity and scale as required allowing capacity to grow at the same rate as their business. These services can all be accessed via SSE Enterprise Telecoms’ quoting and ordering portal, Livequote.

Furthermore, the centres are seen as intrinsic in providing improved capability after the Covid-19 outbreak has seen weekday daytime broadband traffic increase between 35% and 60% in the UK. With instant access to data from anywhere being more important than ever, businesses are having to reconfigure their infrastructure to grant more people online access.

SSE believes that having the option to access both Optical and Ethernet connectivity in one place gives organisations the autonomy to select a solution that best suits their network needs. Reliable and fast high-capacity connectivity will prevent slow processing or downtime and will empower businesses to scale based on their current requirements.

“With digital transformation in full swing, everything businesses do today depends on connectivity,” said SSE Enterprise Telecoms sector director for service providers, Simon Willmott.

“The issue for companies is that finding a local, business-ready connectivity solution they can plug in to is not always easy. By providing Optical and Ethernet services that span the UK, we can better enable local networks that need to be connected nationally, providing businesses with the robust, reliable, business-ready connectivity they require.”