Xantaro is helping to speed up the rollout of Wildanet’s full fibre network in Cornwall, as part of government’s Project Gigabit.
As part of its expanding partnership with Wildanet, Xantaro is deploying fully integrated street cabinet and exchange solutions to optimise build speed, enhance network resilience and reduce maintenance costs.
With £77 million in Project Gigabit funding, Wildanet is delivering gigabit-capable full fibre broadband to more than 35,000 premises in rural and underserved areas in Cornwall. Project Gigabit is government-funded programme enabling hard-to-reach communities access fast, reliable broadband, targeting homes and businesses that are not included in broadband suppliers’ commercial plans.
The two-year deployment deadline requires an aggressive build pace. Xantaro’s expertise in active equipment deployment, combined with its partnership with Nokia, ensures that Wildanet can meet government’s ambitious targets while maintaining long-term network reliability.
Xantaro’s pre-configured street cabinets and exchange solutions incorporate:
- Advance cabinet design solution using a heat exchanger rather than external air cooling ensures that moisture and dirt ingress is eliminated and noise pollution is minimised, resulting in reduced maintenance requirements.
- Nokia optical line terminals to enable high-speed fibre connectivity with advanced traffic management and network scalability.
- Viavi centralised OTDR test heads for real-time fibre monitoring and fault detection, reducing downtime and enabling proactive maintenance. This tool also offers a proof point of Ready For Service for premises passed
- Out-of-band management to enable control of the cabinet even before the backhaul is built to enable “follow the light” for ODN build and for remote configuration and troubleshooting, minimising on-site visits and expediting service activation.
- Smart locks from iLOQ offering secure access control with a full audit trail for enhanced security and operational oversight.
- Environmental sensors monitoring smoke, moisture and temperature to protect infrastructure from potential risks.
By integrating these technologies within a fully pre-tested and configured solution, Xantaro is enabling a fast, efficient network rollout, ensuring that Wildanet’s infrastructure meets government’s stringent delivery requirements while reducing long-term operational costs.
Xantaro also provides end-to-end network management services, including in-home connectivity optimisation through mesh Wi-Fi solutions to deliver a seamless broadband experience for customers. Wildanet is one of more than 40 UK altnets working with Xantaro to build networks for hard-to-reach and underserved communities.
Stephen Kingdom, chief technology officer, fixed networks, Xantaro, said, “Rolling out fibre networks at scale and speed requires smart infrastructure that not only accelerates deployment but also ensures long-term performance. Our fully integrated, pre-configured street cabinets allow altnets like Wildanet to deploy faster while reducing maintenance overhead.
“Features like real-time monitoring, smart security, and the inherent noise pollution reduction heat exchangers bring make these cabinets an ideal solution for high-quality, community-friendly broadband expansion. As BDUK contracts ramp up, we look forward to supporting more altnets in meeting deployment targets while ensuring the highest quality network experience for communities.”
Justin Clark, chief strategy and technology officer at Wildanet, said, “The quality and reliability of the infrastructure we deploy are critical to ensuring long-term connectivity for Cornwall’s communities. We’ve been really impressed by Xantaro’s street cabinets and they have been an important partner on this deployment for us, not only to enhance the speed and efficiency of our rollout but also helping us prioritise local impact.
“With built-in heat exchange technology, these cabinets reduce operational noise, minimising disruption for residents while ensuring a robust and future-proof network.”