Housing Provider Sanctuary to Deploy SCCI’s Shared UK Full Fibre Network

SCCI Alphatrack (SCCI Group), which is a specialist in the design, supply, installation and maintenance of Fibre, Media and Fire Life safety systems, has today announced that they’ve secured a wayleave agreement with housing and care provider Sanctuary to deploy their neutral, shared full-fibre network across large residential buildings (MDUs) – serving “thousands of residents“.

Sanctuary, which is a trading name of the Sanctuary Housing Association (SHA), is a not-for-profit housing association that owns and manages around 125,000 units of accommodation (c.250,000 people) across England and Scotland. Many of those can be found inside “tricky“ Multi-Dwelling Units (MDU), which often present challenges for broadband operators looking to roll out FTTP networks.

The new agreement (approved by their Building Safety Team) will thus see many of Sanctuary’s MDUs deploying SCCI’s 4Fibre solution, which will build a neutral, shared full-fibre network that can support multiple providers over a single installation.

Marie Bush, Wayleave Manager, SCCIA, said:

“This partnership with Sanctuary goes beyond providing infrastructure, it’s about improving lives by connecting residents with the digital world and creating opportunities for the community to come together. We are delighted to bring not only full fibre but also meaningful social initiatives to enhance the lives of residents.”

Mia Edwards, Senior FTTP Project Manager, Sanctuary, said:

“This partnership will improve the fibre connectivity of our high-rise buildings and help keep our customers safe.”

The new agreement is a big deal for SCCI, although it’s currently unclear which broadband ISPs / network operators are likely to hop on board with the new approach. The 4Fibre approach typically creates a very simple network that allows up to four ISPs to connect over a single infrastructure and protects the fabric of the building at the same time.

Each ISP owns a separate part of the network and has their own cabinet and fibre line. Installing the network once not only reduces duplication across the whole supply chain, but also disruption for the landlord and residents. To make the ISPs life even easier they can connect blocks together in clusters, further reducing the amount of PIA required and making it more cost-effective for ISPs to buy into the network.

The approach works best in large MDUs that require internal wiring, listed buildings or sites with challenging installations. Crucially, there are no ongoing costs (unlike some past approaches by other companies), and the ISPs take the responsibility for maintaining their part of the network.