Eight networks. Named clients. Real numbers.

AI data centre — 15 sites, 4×100Gbps, 6GW pipeline

Evaluated 15 sites from a connectivity viewpoint. Costed and ranked them. Designed routes for a shortlist of four. Delivered the build on time and on budget. Involved extensive co-ordination work with Openreach (physical fibre), a national carrier (4×100Gbps links), and the on-site builders of the data centre infrastructure.

Outcome Site selection accelerated. Network live to spec.

“ We’re delighted with the expert advice and support we have received from SICOM which has enabled us to prioritise locations for the roll-out of our planned 6GW of computing power. SICOM has worked closely with our site contractors and project management to ensure that the local infrastructure has been installed to meet the needs of the site. — A leading AI infrastructure operator (client name confirmed at review)

Ask4 — West London Residences

Linked eleven luxurious residential buildings across West London, plus the Management Suite. Replaced outdated legacy copper with multi-core dark fibre. Ask4 retained complete ownership of the fibre links — stabilising costs and giving them control of the network.

Outcome Ultra-fast Gigabit service across the estate. Cost base fixed for the contract life.

“ The use of multi-core dark fibre cables allows us to benefit from instant scalability. Ownership of the fibre fixes the costs and provides a saving or 50% or more over the projected life of the contract. — Ask4, West London Residences

Ask4 — UK-wide rollout, eleven cities

Preferred provider of dark fibre across York, Bath, Southampton, Glasgow, Aberdeen, Lancaster, Falmouth, Sheffield, Nottingham, Cardiff and Birmingham. All sites delivered by end of June 2024. Total Care delivered via RADAR — out-of-band monitoring every few seconds, GIS-mapped to the route.

Outcome Multi-city network live, monitored, and owned by Ask4.

Heriot-Watt University — Galashiels campus

Connected the Jean Muir Student Village and the High Mill building with high-speed cross-site fibre. The university chose the Sicom model that grants complete ownership of the fibre links — eliminating ongoing lease expenses for the campus.

Outcome Lease bills off the books. Campus connectivity owned outright.

Focus Sensors — Dark Fibre 2, water leak sensing

Appointed as dark fibre specialists on a £1.49m project funded by the OFWAT Water Breakthrough Challenge. Partners include Severn Trent Water, Welsh Water, and Northumbrian Water. Focus Sensors’ IndusTM system turns ordinary telecoms fibre into a sensor that can locate water leaks. Sicom provides the dark fibre across five test areas.

Outcome Sensing network deployed. Wider OFWAT programme target: a one-billion-litres-per-day reduction in UK water leakage by 2030.

GCRE — Global Centre of Rail Excellence

A world-class facility for rail research, testing, and innovation currently being built in South Wales — including an on-site modular data centre. Sicom researched the area, found options to connect to the government network, other data centres, the internet, and cloud providers using either leased bandwidth or dark fibre for the last mile. Recommended an Open Access Network Partnership. Openreach was contracted to provide diversely-routed multi-fibre cables between the site and two local exchanges.

Outcome Diverse, multi-fibre connectivity contracted ahead of the data centre opening.

Midlands data centre — survey for sale

Evaluated a privately-owned location in the Midlands. Found several other carriers nearby that could be connected diversely. Quoted the multi-carrier connection work at under £100,000.

Outcome Site value increased by many times the survey cost — prospective buyers could see that four or five carriers were achievable.

Carbon-Z — Swindon colocation

Swindon-based colocation provider — leaders in immersion cooling. Needed both improved carrier connectivity and multi-100Gb capacity for prospective tenants. Sicom undertook a comprehensive survey of all carriers and dark fibre in the Swindon area and provided detailed options including costs to connect to each carrier using either dark fibre or dedicated fibre with multiple wavelengths.

Outcome Multi-carrier connectivity map delivered. Multi-100Gb capacity available.