New points of presence and sub-sea backup to mainland UK
Neos Networks is installing the new dark fibre network for Jisc (provide digtal infrastructure and services for higher education and research sector) in Northern Ireland, to overhaul the existing Janet network.
It follows a January announcement that Neos is also upgrading the Jisc network in the North West. Jisc says that the upgrades to the Janet networks are underway to help meet increased network demand created by the shift to the hybrid learning environment.
The Joint Information Systems Committee (JISC) regulates the supply of a digital network and supporting services for the UK’s tertiary education and research sector. The network will aid educational and research by speeding data between Jisc offices and data centres in the UK, Northern Ireland and Dublin at speeds of up to 100 Gbps. The contract was awarded to Neos after an open tender and is a new phase in the overhaul of Jisc’s Janet Network across 15 UK regions.
The Northern Ireland job follows a successful delivery of dark fibre network for Jisc across the North-West of England, which was announced in January 2022. The two contracts form part of a constant review and upgrading of the Janet Network, designed to boost the capacity, speed and efficiency of its regional centres.
The new gigabit-capable dark fibre network benefits from improved resilience thanks to two separate back-up routes to mainland UK via submarine cables to the company’s unbundled exchanges in Glasgow and Southport. Installation of the new network is already underway as part of the initial seven-year contract.
“We need to continually improve the connectivity options for the institutions we serve,” said Neil Shewry, Jisc’s deputy director of network delivery. “This new network will give us the bandwidth, the capacity and the reliability we need to deliver on that goal. This network will provide future-proof connectivity to Jisc’s members and help to meet increasing demand created by the ongoing shift to the hybrid learning environment.”
Neos Networks was formerly a division of the national energy provider SSE.