Multimillion pound UK tech gateway opens for business

A new high-capacity network has opened for business in southeast Wales, boosting the UK’s ability to attract hyper-scaling tech businesses looking to expand in key strategic areas such as the Cardiff Capital Region.

Built by leading Welsh telecoms business – Ogi – the new network offers a range of in-demand services, including dark fibre, microduct and lit service products, primed for carriers, hyper-scalers, datacentres and Internet Service Providers (ISPs) looking to expand in the region.

The full service telecoms business, already offers a range of broadband, voice and IT managed services to a wide-range of public and private sector organisations across south Wales, maximising on the post-pandemic demand for hybrid services in towns and cities as well as in more rural settings.

Initially offering high-capacity fibre pairs and microducts from Pilning to Cardiff, the new network provides an alternative means to scale networks across the south Wales – considered one of the fastest growing digital economies outside London.

With capacity to grow and extend across south Wales and onto Ireland as demand increases, Ogi’s new wholesale offering is a strategic diversification for the privately backed telco, that already offers a blend of residential and business products from full fibre connectivity to managed IT services.

Through an innovative 25-year agreement with the Welsh Government the full fibre telco has invested around £5milion in an end-to-end network of dark fibre and microducts, creating this new diverse route along the southeast section of the M4 corridor in response to an increase in demand from businesses looking for greater network resilience.

This new network capacity adds to Ogi’s existing market leading business offering, ranging from Wales’s largest private provider of Microsoft solutions to telecoms, cyber security and wifi products. The new route can now carry data from Wales’s capital city, through Europe’s largest data centre campus Vantage Datacentre CWL1 outside Newport, providing point-to-point ‘lit’ ethernet services for all kinds of businesses.

Opening the network for business, Chief Executive Officer, Ben Allwright, said: “This is a landmark moment for Ogi – and for Wales. With established data centres – like Newport’s Vantage Data Centre – and increasing interest from data-led sectors like fintech and remote broadcasting looking to scale in Wales, now’s the time to bring this diversity and high-capacity resilience into south Wales.

“With our data consumption set to double every two years, there’s an increasing need for more data capacity and, ultimately, a resilient network that can carry it all. This unique contract between Ogi and the Welsh Government is the very bedrock of Wales’s digital revolution; a high-capacity route capable of moving data fast and reliably, side-by-side with bringing highly skilled jobs and greater prosperity to Wales.”

Managing Director of broadcast production company Whisper Cymru, Carys Owens, added: “This is great news for Wales and for thriving industries like the broadcast and creative sectors. As we continue to push boundaries in high-quality content production here in Wales, the need for high-capacity, reliable connectivity – and diversity of networks – is fundamental.

“There used to be a perception that you have to leave south Wales to work on major projects in the creative industries, but our work shows that’s not the case. This news isn’t just about connectivity – it opens up the potential to bring more investment, more skills and more opportunities to the country. It’s a huge leap forward for industries like the creative sector and tech – and will really give us a competitive edge.”

Commenting on the new network capacity, Ogi’s Chairman, Graham Sargood, added: “This is unashamedly part of Ogi’s ambition to be Wales’s go-to alternative choice for telecoms, connectivity and IT services.

“It’s good news for the Welsh economy – one of the fastest growing regions for tech outside of London – that’s seeing increasing demand for high-capacity connectivity, not only in the business sector, but across our public services too. Through this new route we can confidently attract data driven businesses to Wales, bringing new highly skilled jobs to the region and ultimately boosting the Welsh and UK economies.”

Dark fibre and microduct services along the new high-capacity network are now available for sale under Ogi’s ‘wholesale’ arm, boosting the telco’s offering across wholesale, data centre products and high-capacity data connections.