ISP MLL Telecom Secure South Ayrshire Wide Area Network Contract

UK ISP MLL Telecom has won the contract to upgrade internet connectivity infrastructure for South Ayrshire Council in Scotland with a new Wide Area Network (WAN). The aim is to completely replace the authority’s legacy wireless network infrastructure with a new a fully managed service.

Local schools and other public sector sites are also expected to benefit from the new network, which will be additionally used to cost effectively connect local infrastructure services such as traffic lights, CCTV cameras and public Wi-Fi over the new core. Enhanced bandwidth (speeds) have also been promised, although no hard figures were provided.

On top of that MLL has pledged its own support to developing new opportunities for the South Ayrshire community. This includes a commitment to improving local education, employability and developing new skills for citizens as part of its apprenticeship scheme and ongoing recruitment of local engineers. Council-nominated charities will also benefit from ongoing fundraising led by the ISP.

Cllr Peter Henderson, South Ayrshire Council, said:

“We’re working to ensure our customers can access services reliably, and at a time that suits them. Our new contract with MLL Telecom is the first step to help achieve this ambition, as it will bring our ICT communications bang up to date with faster and more reliable voice and data connections, improved security, and systems which can adapt to changing customer needs.

These improvements will also allow us to upgrade Wi-Fi access for schools, customers and Council staff, and replace outdated and costly technologies such as radio systems and hard-wired CCTV cameras.”

Ross Duke, Technology Director at MLL Telecom, added:

“Having grown up in Ayr, I know first-hand the challenges that South Ayrshire communities face as a result of poor network infrastructure. It’s time that the ageing infrastructure is brought into the future and is able to support the Council’s digital transformation plans.

We’ll be combining our experience as a managed service provider to the public sector and demonstrating our ability to provide a resilient, reliable and secure solution to upgrade a network that is no longer fit for purpose.”

The contract will run for 5 years and migration onto the new network is scheduled to commence from early 2019.