At Altnets, we understand the importance of fostering strong relationships with our clients and manufacturing partners. Recently, team members from Altnets embarked on an exciting road trip to visit some of our valued partners and customers, strengthening connections and gaining insights along the journey. Join Jordan, Dickie, and Leigh as they travel through Wales, Bristol, and Dorset, meeting with industry leaders and exploring their innovative facilities.
The first stop was to our partner OFS Optics in Newport, Wales. OFS is a leading producer and manufacturer of optical fibre, fibre optic cables and connectivity solutions. The global company has cable manufacturing centres across the world from Morocco to the US, and logistics centres located in Denmark, Germany, and the UK. Each week, products, such as fibre optic cable and fibre drop terminals, are imported from the Moroccan manufacturing plant to the company’s warehouse in East Anglia, UK. These items are either dispatched directly to Altnets’ customers or stored alongside other stock in our warehouse in Burgess Hill, ahead of distribution.
Meeting with Martin Warne, Alison White, and Mark Graveston from the UK OFS branch, our team had the opportunity to tour OFS’s facilities, including their warehouses and office spaces. Fibre drop terminals for installation in tower blocks and Multiple Dwelling Units (MDUs) were the focal point of discussion; these are essential products we supply to our customers. We supply internet service providers (ISPs) with the OFS’s terminals to connect residents in MDUs to high-speed fibre optic broadband. We also delved into exciting future plans for our partnership, including new products and collaborative projects. It was a valuable experience to connect with the OFS team in person and gain firsthand insights into their operations in Wales.
Continuing their journey through Wales, the team stopped by to see Ogi, a community-focused alternative network provider headquartered in Cardiff. Ogi takes pride in installing Gigabit-capable infrastructure and broadband in towns and villages across Wales, supporting hard-to-reach areas and providing high-quality and reliable services to the surrounding communities. This visit highlighted the importance of grassroots initiatives in expanding network coverage and closing the UK’s digital divide.
Moving on to Bristol, the team met with ISP Glide and manufacturers HellermannTyton. Glide is another Altnets customer, specialising in supplying large new-build developments such as university campuses and high-rise apartments, including the new MODA development in our home town of Brighton, with fibre broadband. Discussions were centred around Glide’s plans to build a fibre ring around the cities across the UK, enhancing connectivity and supporting urban development initiatives.
Before concluding their customer visit road trip and returning to Brighton, the Altnets team headed to Dorset to meet with Wessex Internet, an ISP that aims to serve remote areas of the Southwest with connectivity solutions. Altnets and Wessex Internet collaborate to deliver high-speed broadband to under-resourced communities. The meeting underscored the important role of partnerships between telecoms suppliers, like Altnets, and ISP procurement teams in achieving mutual objectives and expanding network access to all corners of the UK.
“Visiting some of our partners and customers in the Southwest region has been an absolute pleasure,” remarked Jordan Collins, Sales Director at Altnets. “We feel incredibly fortunate to collaborate with such outstanding partners and customers who play a vital role in upgrading the UK’s telecoms infrastructure to high-speed broadband. Face-to-face meetings help strengthen our partnerships and progress our shared commitment to driving innovation in the industry.”
This trip highlights our commitment to upholding meaningful relationships with all our clients and partners. By prioritising meeting in person with the companies we work alongside, our team gained valuable knowledge, strengthened business connections, and reaffirmed their dedication to supporting the installation of fibre optic infrastructure across the UK. As they return to Brighton, Jordan, Dickie, and Leigh carry with them a deeper understanding of the diverse needs and challenges within our industry, including digital exclusion within some of the communities they visited.
For more information on how Altnets could support your procurement team to plan better network builds, get in touch now: [email protected]
