FibreSpeed widens pipe for north west data centre market with IFL link

FibreSpeed, the Welsh Assembly Government supported fibre optic network connecting North Wales with Manchester, has signed an agreement with data centre provider, IFL. By delivering a direct fibre connection into IFL’s Manchester premises, this link will allow businesses across both regions to access one of the North West’s largest data centres at significantly greater speeds than before.

FibreSpeed is a £30m joint venture between the Welsh Assembly Government, European Regional Development Funds and Geo Networks that is bringing affordable high speed communications services to North Wales for the first time.

IFL is one of the UK’s leading regional co-location providers, owned by managed service company Attenda. Its 600 rack, carrier-neutral data centre in Manchester’s Technopark is one of the largest outside London and allows customers to connect rack space to their own premises via their preferred supplier.

FibreSpeed’s link into IFL’s data centre comes at a time when companies across the UK are seeking to co-locate outside of London for disaster recovery purposes. Matt Edgley, IFL’s sales manager, commented: “The availability of fibre is an increasingly important factor for companies looking to take rack space within our data centre. While there are sizable cost benefits to co-locating in Manchester instead of London, making the move successfully involves accessing the kind of high speed and low latency connections that only fibre can provide.”

Now that the link has been completed, the first wave of customers using the FibreSpeed connection are in situ in IFL’s data centre with more on the way. Edgley continued: “Ever since FibreSpeed launched we have seen a considerable upturn in demand for fibre connections among customers, who see the network as an ideal opportunity to ‘futureproof’ their own communications infrastructure.”

Mike Johnston, FibreSpeed project director, added: “FibreSpeed has an integral role to play in the growth of the regional data centre market, insofar as providing the high speed connectivity required to make the north west and North Wales a major force in the industry. In terms of power and land availability there has been ‘room at the inn’ for regional data centres for some time. With an abundance of modern fibre optic infrastructure now in the ground the last barrier – cost effective access to fibre – has now been dismantled”.

Johnston concluded: “We look forward to helping IFL grow the data centre market by providing its customers with access to the fibre optic connectivity they need to make co-location a success.”