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Case Studies

Emergency 5G Install at Oyster Pier

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The Challenge:

Oyster Pier are residential moorings that offer the same luxury you would expect from a five-star hotel, all whilst floating on the South Bank of the river Thames. This unique community is made up of custom-designed barges that have access to a wide range of facilities.

They required emergency connectivity when a scheduled fibre installation was delayed without prior notice. Without connectivity, not only will the barge tenants have no way to access the internet for work and calls, but also the CCTV system will go offline posing a huge security risk to the site.

It was mission critical to get the site back up and running with a solution that could cope with the high traffic demand.

The Solution:

To solve the problem, we rapidly deployed a SimRush Chateau 5G.

This was the ideal emergency solution as it is pre-configured and works out of the box. Set up is extremely quick meaning the site didn’t waste important time waiting for an installation to be carried out. 

Being 5G capable, the SimRush Chateau can produce extremely fast speeds when put in a location with strong 5G coverage such as central London. It also has high speed, built in failover to the 4G network due to the CAT20 LTE modem which will automatically kick in if the connection to 5G is lost. Therefore, it was able to cope with the high network demands of the site.

We assigned a static IP address to the Chateau hardware which enabled remote access to the network, meaning Oyster Pier could get their CCTV back online and view the security footage remotely if required.

The Result:

Rapidly deploying the SimRush Chateau 5G has saved Oyster Pier from potentially damaging connectivity downtime. They can use the Chateau 5G as a temporary primary connection that provides them with the all important fixed IP address to keep their systems running effectively. Once the fibre installation goes ahead, the SimRush Chateau 5G will then become a failover solution to increase the value of their investment even further.

Being able to remotely view their CCTV footage, has also provided them with peace of mind that they are no longer vulnerable to security risks.

“You can’t improve on perfection”

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Mike Barnes

Oyster Pier

FreeClix uses SimRush to get rural holiday cottage online

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Challenge

The holiday cottage that was in need of better broadband is situated in the rural village of Felbrigg in North Norfolk.

When the cottage owners first contacted FreeClix, the holiday cottage was without any form of broadband or WiFi. The rural location and poor mobile signal in the area was making it extremely difficult for them to find connectivity options. Fibre broadband was definitely not an option, so they contacted FreeClix looking for an alternative broadband solution.

The cottage sleeps up to 6 people and needed to offer a stable enough connection that occupants could use Netflix, Sky and their mobile devices at the same time without buffering issues.

Solution

FreeClix carried out an initial desktop survey of the property to assess the mobile coverage in the area to ensure a service could be provided using SimRush hardware.

The survey revealed EE to have the strongest coverage for the location. So, a SimRush Pro WiFi system with an EE Unlimited data SIM was proposed.

Having unlimited data would ensure that the guests staying in the cottage could enjoy streaming films and browsing online as much as they liked without any restrictions.

The cottage itself is quite a large, old building with thick walls. This meant that the WiFi signal from the main SimRush internal router only reached the central part of the cottage. But this was not an issue. FreeClix ensured full coverage of the property by using SimRush WiFi access points to extend the WiFi around the whole building.

Results

The holiday cottage now has excellent broadband and WiFi facilities for their guests to use. This is an excellent advertising bonus which will help the cottage earn many more bookings in the future.

The expandable WiFi has ensured that guests don’t have to go to a certain part of the cottage to use the WiFi, as the whole property has signal. This will help provide the best possible customer satisfaction and avoid any negative reviews about ‘patchy’ WiFi.

“Extremely helpful and understanding team. Always available for any questions. Responded to emails very quickly. Explained the service and installation thoroughly.

Would recommend this service to anyone who needs a reliable internet but doesn’t want to pay the huge cost of paying for the utility infrastructure.”

SimRush Broadband enables teachers to effectively work from home

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A good internet connection has never been more important than during the Coronavirus pandemic. With so many people working from home, the standard of connectivity in households was often the primary factor in how successful a work day could be.

For Matt and Karen Phelps in Norfolk, this could not be more true. They are both teachers who had to resort to online teaching when lockdown was introduced in 2020 and 2021.

Teaching became practically impossible because their internet connection was constantly cutting out during lessons and the average speeds they were seeing were around just 0.5 Mbps. To be able to work effectively, they were forced to leave their home and look for communal areas with internet connectivity just to do their jobs.

The Challenge:

The Master Distributor of SimRush, FreeClix, were asked to install a system that would enable the teachers to teach effectively from home.

The solution needed to be able to overcome the property’s thick walls which obstructed wireless coverage making it difficult to get WiFi in all areas of the property. The solution also needed to be able to pick up signal in a weak 4G coverage area where the nearest 4G cell mast is a long distance away.

The Solution:

To ensure a good signal was achieved, FreeClix installed a standard SimRush One unit with a long-range antenna and raised the antenna to the highest point possible above the chimney. The increased sensitivity of the long-range antenna enabled us to get a good signal for the property even in a weak 4G coverage area.

To prevent the thick walls from obstructing wireless coverage, powerline adaptors were used between the room which housed the router and the customer’s home office, to boost the WiFi signal in this area.

This was necessary as the office was in the extended part of the house, which was quite a distance from where the router sits. Unlike with their original BT broadband, FreeClix were able to extend the wireless coverage around the property to ensure they had excellent WiFi in all areas.

The Result:

The SimRush solution achieved 35 Mbps download speeds for the customer. This is a huge improvement from the 0.5 Mbps they were previously seeing from their BT set up.

This massive step up in quality of service enabled the customers to use the online video software in their home office, which they were unable to run prior to the SimRush installation. They are now able to teach online classes from the comfort of their own home, without the stress of constant interruptions and buffering.

Here’s what they had to say:

“When lockdown struck in March 2020 it immediately highlighted a problem with working from home. We are both teachers and our attempts to teach remotely using Teams or its equivalent proved impossible due to slow broadband. Our children had to stop what they were doing in order to try and make a difference, it didn’t. BT could offer us nothing to help. The SimRush system we had installed by FreeClix fixed the problem.

Now we can have 5 people using a variety of remote learning systems without complications. We were unable to watch Iplayer or Netflix without constant buffering. That is no longer a problem.

We no longer have to think about Broadband because it simply works.”

Karen & Matt Phelps, Oulton, Norfolk

FreeClix solves connectivity crisis for Rent Accommodation owner

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Challenge

A rental property owner contacted FreeClix looking for help to improve the broadband at his properties. The accommodation is based in an area which has no access to fibre and poor mobile signal, so connectivity options were sparse.

One of the properties was empty and impossible to rent out due to extremely slow download speeds of just 2.5Mbps. People were unable to use their phones, watch films or work from the property making it extremely undesirable to prospective tenants.

The owner contacted us desperately looking for a solution that would help provide this property with good quality internet to help secure bookings.

Solution

Due to the poor mobile signal in the area, FreeClix conducted a physical site survey to see what carrier would work best for the location. It was found that despite the weak coverage, SimRush hardware could still produce excellent download speeds using the EE network.

A full WiFi survey was carried out to ensure the correct equipment was recommended for full coverage of the property.

FreeClix proposed a SimRush One+ Controller with a Long Range ODU for the rental accommodation. Two additional WiFi access points were also recommended to ensure there would be seamless WiFi throughout the building.

The access points were ceiling mounted for the most discrete installation possible.

Results

The broadband connection at the rental property is now 16 times faster than it previously was!

The new 40Mbps download speed has meant that tenants can now work, watch films and make calls all using the internet at the property which was impossible to do prior to the SimRush installation.

Just days after this huge improvement was made to the property’s broadband, the rental property has been let again for the first time in months.

The Gunton Arms sees dramatic broadband speed improvement after SimRush 5G upgrade

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Challenge

The Gunton Arms is a country pub & hotel situated in the one thousand acre deer park which surrounds Gunton Hall in Norfolk. The rural location presents many connectivity challenges and rules out the possibility of using a traditional broadband method to service the pub.

The Gunton Arms is completely reliant on their internet service to function as a business.

Their broadband has to provide connectivity to support their EPOS system, card machines, Office 365, Guest WiFi and even the hotel’s telephone system.

It’s no exaggeration to say that good internet is a crucial factor in the hotel’s success.

So, when the Gunton Arms began to experience issues with their telephone line, FreeClix acted fast to ensure a consistent and reliable service was restored.

Solution

A review of the hotel’s broadband & telephone system revealed underlying issues with their cabled ISDN telephone system.

To resolve the issue, FreeClix installed a SIP trunk to enable them to use VoIP technology for their calls instead. Not only did this restore the quality of their telephone calls, but it also offered more call flexibility as they can now take calls through desktop or mobile devices.

And the improvements didn’t stop there. To ensure the new SIP trunk worked efficiently, FreeClix also considered ways of improving the hotel’s current broadband speeds.

Despite the fact the hotel does not have 5G coverage yet, FreeClix installed SimRush 5G to improve the broadband speed. This is because SimRush 5G-ready hardware is also backwards compatible with the 4G LTE network, meaning it will connect to 4G when it cannot pick up a 5G signal.

SimRush 5G’s powerful CAT 20 4G LTE chipset provides extremely fast speeds even when on the 4G network making it the ideal solution for the Gunton Arms.

As well as increasing their broadband speed, FreeClix also provided the hotel with more network resilience by using SIMs from EE and Vodafone in the setup. This means that they’re not reliant on just one network to keep them online. If one network has an outage, they will stay connected through the alternative network.

Results

Faster speeds. Improved reliability. Extra resilience.

Despite being situated 8 miles away from the nearest 5G area, switching to SimRush 5G has improved the Gunton Arms’ broadband speeds to an amazing 80-100 Mbps!

This huge improvement has ensured that their telephone & EPOS systems can now run efficiently without issues, enabling the hotel to be a lot more productive than before.

The extra resilience provided by the Vodafone SIM connection has also given the hotel further peace of mind that they can continue to function in the event of a network outage.

The need for leading technology in a modern business is essential.

FreeClix have provided an excellent set up for my growing business. But most important is the personal service of having someone on hand who has installed and understands the equipment should I ever need it.

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Simone

General Manager, Gunton Arms

Norfolk County Council

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FreeClix have recently worked with Norfolk County Council to provide a bespoke network for a unit in Scottow Enterprise park.

The Challenge

Norfolk County Council needed to set up a CCTV and security system for a unit in Scottow Enterprise Park. However, the network they currently had in place was too restrictive for these purposes.

FreeClix needed to set up a separate, parallel network that would allow for the configuration of security elements such as door control, guest access and CCTV cameras, whilst also providing a failover internet connection for the business.

The Solution

The SimRush Pro provided a reliable and secure internet solution that allowed for Norfolk County Council to set up everything they needed to.

Multiple additional wireless access points were also installed to ensure there was extensive WiFi coverage throughout the building.

FreeClix provided a static IP address to allow for remote access to the network and ease of accessibility to the CCTV footage. The SimRush Public IP Address we provide is carrier agnostic which means it re-establishes itself over any connection remaining a constant Static Public IP Address that can be reached from anywhere in the world. 

The Result

FreeClix provided a separate connection which allowed for the specific network requirements that were requested.

The SimRush system became the primary method of connectivity, with the existing broadband acting as back up failover, ensuring the business would never go offline.

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