CCOOMMMMSS JUST A MINUTE
N NEEWWSS
FASTER THAN FIBRE?
Luminet is making a lot of noise in the City of London with their independent Fixed Wireless Access product which
ensures businesses are always online with a diverse connection. In this feature we spoke to Jonathan Barnes,
Sales Director at Luminet, about the business direction and their increased Channel focus
COMMS BUSINESS MAGAZINE
trading companies must have
CBM: WHY ARE YOU FOCUSING ON
(CBM): WHAT IS THE LATEST
diverse connections to remain
CHANNEL NOW?
FROM LUMINET?
compliant. What we are finding,
JB: We’ve always had a channel
JONATHAN BARNES (JB):
and this is not just true in the
proposition, but it has only
Luminet was founded fourteen
finance sector, is many people
been over the last couple of
years ago and was one of
would have a primary fibre
years that we’ve really got
the first to offer commercial
connection and then install a
some traction on it. And that’s
wireless connectivity
secondary smaller circuit so
because of simple economics,
solutions to businesses
they could tick the box and
now we feel the Channel model
and has grown its client
cover themselves. Often, if
of ‘one to many’ is better than
base in London to more than
something does happen to the
‘one to one’. We are trying to
1000 businesses. In April
primary connection, which
increase the business moving
2018, Luminet received a £3
happens more than you would
through Channel as much as
million development capital
expect in London where there
possible right now.
investment from Foresight to
is lots of construction, the
It can be diffi cult breaking
expand network and coverage
secondary isn’t fit for purpose.
across 400Sqkm of London
and to scale the partner
program. As a result, people in
London are far more familiar
with the Luminet name and the
business has built a fantastic
foundation for future growth.
into partners that have been
selling fi bre for years. I wouldn’t
say they’re happy with the lead
times, but perhaps they just
accept them for what they are.
It is complacency more than
anything. When you think that
traditional fi bre might not even
be suitable for 10-15 per cent of
sites suddenly our proposition
makes sense. When you add
in the 10-day lead time and the
performance of the network it
really is a no-brainer.
CBM: HOW ARE YOU EMPOWERING
PARTNERS TO SELL YOU FWA
PRODUCT?
JB: I truly believe automation
is the way forward, so we’ve
built that principle into
ourforthcomingportal. We
are building the portal with
the partners in mind and to be
honest, it’s an IT manager’s
dream. Partners can put in a
customer postcode to check
for coverage, and then offer
anything from 100 mbps up to 5
Gbps, and go straight to order.
Customers can look at the
utilisation of that circuit, raise a
ticket, essentially wherever you
have internet access you can
log in and check the progress
of your circuits. The portal is a
big selling point for us and will
be launching out to partners in
April 2020.
SIP phones from
Call us on 01403 224450
www.soscommunications.co.uk
COMMUNICATIONS
The VAR’s Preferred Distributor
Our wireless network in
London is our strength. We
are particularly strong in
the financial sector where
Customers are often
surprised to learn that our
service can be 50 per cent
faster than their primary fi bre
connection, with less latency.
The other factor is the speed of
delivery, our services can be in
and running within 10 working
days, for businesses that rely
on their connection this is
essential.
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14 | Comms Business Magazine | December 2019 www.commsbusiness.co.uk
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