INTERVIEW
Leaving no one behind
Glide provides superfast,
In the race to full fi bre, some organisations fi nd themselves with fewer connectivity options than others. Comms
Business caught up with Glide UK to fi nd out how the company opens up new possibilities for its partners
reliable solutions
through its privatelyowned
bre network. e
company chose to build its own
infrastructure so it could ensure
quality across every inch of its
infrastructure. To date, Glide
has reached 100,000 premises,
with 300km of bre in the
ground and 570 bre-enabled
cabinets in the UK.
e company’s
infrastructure enables
organisations to have more
exible connectivity options.
We sat down with Daniel
Alvarez, Head of Channel at
Glide UK, to nd out how
the company will reach areas
that have historically been ‘left
behind’.
Comms Business Magazine
(CBM): One of Glide’s key
objectives is to open a whole
host of connectivity options.
Can you talk us through what
those options are?
Daniel Alvarez (DA): “Glide
goes to outer urban areas like
industrial estates and science
parks that normally only
have two options… ADSL
broadband that works through
the copper wires of existing
phone lines or lease lines a
private telecommunications
circuit between locations. We
build infrastructure enabling
them to have the range in
between.
“We open up FTTC
from speeds of 40/10 up to
our 80/20 unlimited, which
normally provides greater
speeds than that. We also open
up synchronous full bre from
100/100 up to 1GB/1GB so
customers have a lease line style
delivery but with broadband
pricing. We can also o er lease
lines options and fantastic
pricing as we are on net and
close to our partners end
users.”
CBM: Every organisation
has experienced knock-on
effects due to the ongoing
coronavirus pandemic. What
has been your experience?
DA: “ e coronavirus has given
us a real-life business case of
how the ability to work from
anywhere is fundamental in
today’s world. Our partners
have a fantastic portfolio
of products to help their
customers but these all need
good connectivity to function.
is is where we Glide and
other alternative networks can
help increase the speed that
bre is available to all.
“Our partners, as a whole,
seem very upbeat about the
future. ey have the ability
and relationships to really
help their customers future
proof and build for the future.
Together, we will make a
digital Britain with digital
solutions a reality.”
CBM: What does the quick
shift to home working mean
for your business? Has
your strategy changed as a
result?
DA: “Our strategy has not
changed, we have over 300
gliders spread over three o ces
and in one day we moved the
entire team to home working.
We had the systems in place to
allow us to do that that, but of
course needed great levels of
connectivity to pull it o .”
CBM: Some fi bre companies
are saying the government’s
broadband promise is at risk
if rural funds aren’t allocated
soon. What does Glide make
of that?
DA: “All business are
commercially driven which
means easy to reach areas are
always going to be rst, if the
rural funding does not come
quickly businesses will be
left behind and not have the
ability to adapt by geography
which is not fair. Our core is
to build to these areas that
some bre providers don’t see
as commercially viable i.e. 250
end users o one cabinet at
£30/£40 a month does not t
an industrial estate with 20
businesses.”
CBM: What are your
expectations for the next
12-24 months?
DA: “I expect a massive shift
to the cloud over the next
one to two years, with even
more people moving to cloud
based solutions. As we carry
on with our bre cabinet roll
out, we expect to help even
more partners reach out and
deliver the future to customers
that historically have been
left behind in the race to full
bre.”
6 | Road to Full Fibre 2020 www.commsbusiness.co.uk
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