INCA Awards Broadband Quality Mark to First UK Wireless ISP

The Independent Networks Co-operative Association (INCA) has today awarded their first fixed wireless broadband ISP – Secure Web Services (SWS) – with a “Gold Standard Quality Mark“, which aims to highlight alternative network providers that adopt the best practices in performance, design and operations.

The quality mark, which attracts a joining fee of £500 +vat (on top of INCA’s membership fees) and the same again for annual renewal, was officially launched late last year (details). Providers that pay this also have to go through a validation process in order to confirm that they abide by the “best practice” criteria. So far the only ISPs to receive this mark have been full fibre (FTTP) providers including Hyperoptic, WightFibre and Truespeed.

The good news is that SWS, which is best known for their rural wireless broadband service across parts of Shropshire, is now said to have “met the stringent criteria of the scheme” and can thus use the Gold Standard Quality Mark Scheme logo as part of their branding to highlight that its network is “among the best in regard to performance, design and operation.”

Chris New, Managing Director at SWS, said:

“We’re delighted to receive this acknowledgement for the quality of our advanced wireless network. We are proud that our network has the capability to support such a wide range of services, such as video conferencing and streaming. What’s more is that we have been able to achieve this in some of the UK’s most rural and sparsely populated locations, beyond the viable reach of alternative broadband providers. Attaining this award gives our customers additional peace of mind in this ever-growing market of alternative suppliers.”

Malcolm Corbett, CEO at INCA, said:

“We congratulate SWS on its Gold Standard Quality Mark which is the first to be awarded in the wireless category of the scheme. SWS has proved its commitment to delivering the highest quality wireless network to its customers and its efforts have made a significant contribution in connecting previously underserved parts of the UK.”

One slight flaw in this quality mark is that ISPs seems to remain included even when they don’t comply with all of the key criteria. For example, the mark requires ISPs to sign-up with Ofcom’s new 2019 broadband speed code of practice (details) and yet none of the providers named in this article appear to be listed for this on Ofcom’s website (here). We have asked INCA about this and are awaiting their reply.

We should add that UKWISPA runs an alternative quality mark scheme that shares some of the same criteria as INCAs and SWS are also a member of that too.