Network of Water Fountains Arrives to London
Network of Water Fountains Arrives to London : A network of water fountains is due to be delivered by a Durham-based water cooler business, which secured a deal with Thames Water with the help of a Newcastle-headquartered law firm. MIW will supply an initial 100 fountains to busy areas of London, which will be manufactured at its Durham base in partnership with US giant Elkay International. The network deal was negotiated between the two parties by Watson Burton’s commercial contracts experts. “It was important for us to agree the right terms to ensure this project was able to get underway quickly, and having worked previously with Watson Burton we were confident in their abilities,” said MIW managing director Mike Winter. “This latest initiative is another example of cities up and down the UK looking at ways of reducing the amount of waste from single use plastics, which we’re passionate about. These latest models of outdoor fountains will refill a 500ml bottle in under seven seconds and are specially designed to be durable and accessible making them ideal for high traffic public areas,” Mike added. MIW has been supplying, developing and building water coolers and drinking fountains for more than a quarter of a century. Manufacturing & Engineering Magazine | The Home of Manufacturing Industry News
Rural Broadband Firm Raises Money on Crowdfunding Platform
Rural Broadband Firm Raises Money on Crowdfunding Platform : £2 million have been raised on a crowdfunding platform by an organisation tackling the problem of slow or non-existent broadband in rural areas of the UK. The organisation, called Broadband for the Rural North (B4RN), has brought the money in through Triodos, with the investment coming from both retail investors and institutional investors, including the Esmée Fairbairn Foundation’s social investment fund. “Investors from all over the UK have got behind us and will help us to connect more properties, more quickly than we would have usually been able to do. The future of B4RN is very exciting and we hope to reach our overall crowdfunding target, which will help us to significantly grow the network so more people and businesses benefit,” said Barry Forde, chief executive of B4RN. The organisation is close to achieving its goals of £3 million. The capital raised will help B4RN – which is owned by its members and invests its profits back into the community – to quadruple its network to up to 20,000 properties by 2023. “This investment will enable B4RN to substantially increase its network, to connect more and more houses, businesses, community groups and schools to the best broadband possible in the UK in some of our most rural communities. Our goal now is to reach £3 million, which will enable B4RN to quadruple its network by 2023,” added Dan Hird, head of corporate finance at Triodos Bank. Manufacturing & Engineering Magazine | The Home of Manufacturing Industry News
telent Takes Over Highways England Telecommunications Network
The UK’s leading mission-critical network solutions provider, telent Technology Services Ltd, will be managing and transforming Highways England’s road telecommunications network. The NRTS contract is worth almost half a billion pounds and it will enable Highways England to transform its network and deliver the next generation of telecommunications services to meet the needs of the business and support development of future technologies such as 5G. So far, telent has stood up a 270-person organisation (with half of this number transferring under TUPE), a 50-company supply chain, a nationwide logistics infrastructure with 240 delivery locations, a 24/7/365 Networks Operations Centre, a new technology development centre, and transferred 39 in-life project schemes, all without any impact on operational service. In addition, the contract includes a new initiative, a technology transformation programme, which was a fundamental requirement in the Highways England contract. Comprising of 11 technology projects, including the introduction of new wireless and IP CCTV services, new management systems and the next-generation upgrade of all technology, the transformation programme will ultimately enable Highways England to prepare for the future and enable safer roads, more efficient delivery and a better road user experience. “The digital transformation of England’s motorways and major A roads is finally a reality. We’re dedicated to introducing the next generation of communications technology for drivers, with associated long-term economic benefits for UK PLC,” said Chris Metcalfe, Managing Director for NRTS at telent. “Our foundations are with our people, without whom we wouldn’t be able to continue driving technology innovation. As InfraTech comes of age, introducing a new era of infrastructure development, we look forward to continuing our work with Highways England. This project fully epitomises the telent ethos of innovation, collaboration and transformation,” added Chris. The seven-year deal has seen telent take over the current National Roads Telecommunications Service (NRTS) which connects over 30,000 roadside devices such as CCTV cameras and roadside phones to Highways England’s seven regional control centres. The move will support the UK government’s Roads Investment Strategy, which will create free-flowing, smart and sustainable roads.
