SSE Enterprise Telecoms, one of the UK’s leading connectivity providers, today announces its role in working with long term partner NYnet to support infrastructure development of an NHS Extended Access Hub in North Shields, Tyne and Wear in the North East of England. The hub was established to help medical staff support COVID-19 patients that required treatment in a secure facility but were not deemed as needing urgent hospital care.

In order to successfully set up the new site, robust, resilient and above all reliable connectivity was required. It was agreed that Ethernet would be the best solution to facilitate the needs and requirements of the on-site medical professionals.  Ethernet provides a reliable and stable service whilst also enabling the provision of high bandwidth speeds to support on-site systems & processes.

Having worked with SSE Enterprise Telecoms for a number of years, NYnet contacted its provisioning team to acquire the technology, highlighting the importance of quick delivery of this service to support the COVID-19 response. A typical timeline for the sourcing and deployment of an Ethernet connection of this type, taking into account the need for third party collaboration and coordination, can take, on average, between 40 and 60 days. Given the critical importance of this particular project, SSE Enterprise Telecoms accelerated timings as much as possible.

Thanks to the skill and effort of the front office team in manually working alongside industry partners, delivery of the circuit was completed in just eight working days. Once the circuit was deployed, NYnet was able to quickly install a router and connect the site to the Health & Social Care Network (HSCN).

Simon Willmott, Sector Director for Service Provider at SSE Enterprise Telecoms said:

“We are living in challenging times, where the reliance on our blue light services has never been so great. When NYnet reached out to us for Ethernet connectivity, we did everything in our power to work with providers across the industry to make the deployment of the project as quick and painless as possible.

“The successful completion of this deployment has been a real team effort and is a testament to the commitment of businesses across the sector in coming together during the pandemic to make sure the lives of those on the front line, and their patients, are a little bit easier.”

Zoe Oxley, Senior Project & Deployment Manager at NYnet said:

“The Extended Access Hub is a critical component in the North East’s fight against COVID-19. As soon as the medical team reached out to us for connectivity support, we understood the importance of procuring and delivering a reliable connectivity solution as quickly as possible.”

“Having worked with SSE Enterprise Telecoms on previous circuit deliveries we knew of the benefits of the LIVEQUOTE portal, but not even in our wildest dreams could we have predicted an eight-day turnaround from order to completion. This well managed, smooth process is a great display of how the industry can support our front-line key workers, should we all pull together.”

About SSE Enterprise Telecoms

SSE Enterprise Telecoms provides class-leading connectivity and data centre services that deliver very high performance, cost efficiency and a competitive edge. The company operates a 20,000+km private telecoms network and an estate of 80 commercial data centres that span the UK. With its extensive telecoms and data centre operational expertise it offers commercial security with unrivalled in-house engineering resource.

With a passionate and conscientious team, as well as the backing of the SSE Group and Infracapital, it continues to invest in the future of its customers, staff, services and infrastructure.  For further information, please visit: http://www.ssetelecoms.com/ or the SSE Enterprise Telecoms blog: http://www.ssetelecoms.com/blog/.