Alternative network provider Brsk, which is busy rolling out a gigabit-capable Fibre-to-the-Premises (FTTP) broadband ISP network across parts of England, has confirmed that they’re in the “early” process of deploying Novas11’s IP Infusion technology into their network infrastructure.
Specifically, Brsk will be adopting the company’s OCNOS-SP-Plus software to serve as a P Router (i.e. a kind of transit router to the core network) for aggregating Optical Line Terminal (OLT) traffic. The related software runs on Edgecore routers and is platform-agnostic. Brsk is also evaluating other vendors to ensure supply chain redundancy.
NOTE: Brsk currently aims to pass 1 million UK homes by 2026 and is being backed by investment from Advencap, as well as the Ares Management Corp.
At present, it’s still too early in the deployment phase to talk about what kind of return on their investment this might deliver, but the goal of such things is to both enhance their broadband services while also achieving strong cost efficiencies.
Brsk – fuelled by an investment of at least £259m – is currently building out its new network across parts of West Yorkshire, Lancashire, Greater Manchester, Cheshire, and the West Midlands (Birmingham and The Black Country). Suffice to say that anything able to help bring down their costs will support their business model and network expansion.
Steven Glendinning, CTO of Brsk, said:
“We chose IP Infusion technology as it provides significant CapEx and OpEx reductions compared to our incumbent Juniper solutions. Novas11 is a trusted partner that brings value-add, innovation, and excellent lead times. Additionally, we can source a range of other vendor equipment from Novas11 to meet our network requirements, supported by a variety of professional services.”
The operator’s network has so far acquired a total of some 41.2k customers (up from 28k on 1st Mar 2024) and covered 552,000 premises across the country (536,000 Ready for Service, which is up from 486k RFS on 30th Apr 2024). Residential customers typically pay from £23 per month for a 100Mbps (symmetric) package and this rises up to £32 for their top 900Mbps tier on a 24-month term, which includes a router and free installation.
