Broadband for the Rural North (B4RN) was founded with a clear mission: to bring high-speed fibre broadband to rural communities across the UK. In areas where traditional providers saw challenges, B4RN saw an opportunity to make a difference. By building a full-fibre network from the ground up, the organisation set a new benchmark for connectivity, ensuring those in remote locations had access to fast and reliable internet services.
Providing these services is about more than just infrastructure. The true challenge lies in managing how internet traffic moves, ensuring minimal delays, reducing reliance on costly transit providers, and maintaining overall network resilience. To achieve this, B4RN needed a way to connect directly with the networks and content providers that its customers rely on every day.
This is where The London Internet Exchange (LINX) became an essential part of the solution.
Unlocking the Power of Direct Peering
By Peering at LINX, B4RN are able to take greater control of its network traffic, bypassing traditional transit providers and establishing direct connections with the world’s largest content providers. This dramatically improved network performance, reducing latency and ensuring faster, more reliable access to services such as Microsoft, Netflix, and Google.
Today, over 80% of B4RN’s traffic is exchanged via LINX, creating a more seamless and efficient online experience for its customers.
Before LINX, B4RN had limited control over how its traffic was routed, often depending on third-party transit providers to reach key destinations. This not only increased costs but also introduced potential points of failure that could impact performance. Through LINX, B4RN now has full visibility and control over its network pathways, resulting in fewer outages, lower latency, and a faster resolution of issues.
Enhancing Reliability and Network Performance
Network stability and uptime are critical for any broadband provider, particularly one serving communities where internet access is essential for work, education, and communication.
Since joining LINX, B4RN has significantly improved the reliability of its service, achieving close to 99.999% uptime. The ability to troubleshoot and resolve network issues efficiently has also been transformative. Problems that once took days or even weeks to diagnose and fix can now be addressed in a matter of minutes or hours, ensuring minimal disruption for end users.
A Collaborative and Supportive Exchange
While the technical advantages of LINX membership were clear from the outset, what stood out to B4RN was the collaborative nature of the exchange. The onboarding process was smooth and well-supported, with the LINX team taking the time to understand B4RN’s specific requirements and ensuring a seamless integration.
Unlike commercial exchanges that operate primarily for profit, LINX is a not-for-profit organisation, meaning its primary focus is on supporting its members rather than maximising revenue.
“It was an extremely smooth and personable onboarding process. It felt more like working with family rather than a commercial transaction. The team understood our needs and did everything they could to help us get connected.”
B4RN are also a non-for-profit, operating for the good of the community. Any surplus is reinvested directly into the communities they serve. This structure makes them unique in the broadband sector. Additionally, their success is built on strong collaboration with dedicated community volunteers, who play a vital role in delivering their projects.
Looking Ahead
The partnership between B4RN and LINX has been instrumental in shaping the future of rural broadband. By prioritising efficiency, reliability, and performance, B4RN has been able to provide a world-class internet experience to communities that were previously underserved. LINX has played a key role in this success, enabling B4RN to maintain a robust and future-proof network.
“We expect to use LINX even more. If there are additional services that align with our needs, we will adopt them. We see LINX as a permanent part of our network infrastructure and don’t anticipate ever leaving.”
As technology advances and internet usage evolves, B4RN remains committed to delivering the best possible service to its customers. With LINX as a trusted partner, the company is well-positioned to continue pushing the boundaries of rural connectivity, ensuring that no community is left behind in the digital age.
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