Quay Marinas Ltd, the company that operates Conwy and Deganwy Marinas, won a Conwy Business Award on Friday night at the Conwy Business Awards for ‘Best use of Superfast Broadband’.
Conwy Marina now boosts 50Mbps of broadband speed with the ability to increase to 100Mbps when there is a demand. A BT EAD is taken straight from the marina back to the ITS Technology Group’s FibreSpeed network (Welsh Government backed North Wales’s fibre network now owned by Zayo Group).
Part of the criteria for the 5 Gold Anchor award is the services and ambience the marinas offer, one of the specific criteria’s is wireless internet. Previously Conwy Marina had a basic internet service using a standard copper ADSL line. The standalone ADSL wasn’t coping with the increase in demand. Conwy Marina has 500 berths with a further 165 at De
ganwy, which remained at high occupancy despite the recent recession.
Quay Marinas Ltd upgraded their WiFi network and broadband. They approached three businesses and asked them to present their services. AirAngel were chosen to build the WiFi network and provide the internet portal with ITS Technology Group selected as AirAngel’s connectivity partner to provide the superfast internet backhaul.
Jon Roberts, Area Manager explained, “Ten years ago no one asked for broadband, now people expect it. People want the best kind of service from us. We provide excellent local tourist information; both marinas are accessible, smart with lots of local amenities and shops. Having Conwy town centre, a World Heritage Site, on our doorstep is a great attraction. The quality of the broadband service didn’t match the quality of the other services we provide. We noticed for the last few years there has been an increase in demand for faster broadband; people have started to consider it as part of their decision making process when choosing somewhere to stay and specifically for us, how long they berth for.”
Roy Shelton, CEO of ITS Technology Group said, “We are delighted to be part of this award winning project that clearly demonstrates the positive impact better connectivity has on local economies.”
Dean Wilkinson, CEO of Airangel WiFi added, “Our passion is to help our customers to improve their visitor’s experience. We are proud to have worked with ITS Technology to deliver this award winning solution, which benefits the many visitors and the local community.”
Superfast broadband means that visitors can access more local information and stay for longer. The marina team have seen how faster broadband has changed the way people use the marina. Jon Roberts continued, “We have noticed that people now extend their stay in Conwy and Deganwy. People come down on a Thursday to stay on their boats and work on-board Friday, so they are here ready for the weekend.”
