A new site should not begin by choosing a carrier or product. First review any existing fibre, ducts, services and handover points, then define what the connection must support, the required capacity, failure tolerance, destinations, programme, budget and support model. Those requirements can be translated into a primary service, backup path, route, handover design and commercial specification.
Start with the operational need
The correct product depends on what the site is doing. A construction compound that needs temporary access has a different requirement from a data centre, a telecom mast, a BESS project or an operating network node. Begin by defining the systems that depend on the connection and the consequence of an outage.
Typical uses include corporate access, internet connectivity, cloud services, operational technology, telemetry, CCTV, voice, remote maintenance, customer traffic, replication between sites and high-capacity transport into a wider network.
The questions the project team should answer
- What must the connection support?List the applications, systems, destinations and operational dependencies.
- How much capacity is required?Define the initial need, expected growth and any peak or burst requirement.
- How much failure can the project tolerate?Decide whether a single path is acceptable or whether diverse primary and backup services are required.
- Where must traffic go?Internet, cloud region, carrier hotel, control centre, data centre, core POP or another project site.
- When must it be live?Work backwards from the operational date and include surveys, wayleaves, civils, access and testing.
- Who will operate it?Clarify whether the client wants a managed service or has the capability to operate optics, routing and faults internally.
- What commercial model is acceptable?Balance one-off construction cost, recurring charges, contract length, scalability and ownership.
Likely product options
| Product | Best suited to | Key question |
|---|---|---|
| Dedicated Internet Access | Business-grade internet with defined bandwidth, support and service levels | Is resilient internet required, and who will provide routing, IP addressing and DDoS protection? |
| Managed Ethernet | Private point-to-point or multipoint connectivity between known locations | Does the service need to connect sites rather than provide internet access? |
| Wavelength | High-capacity transport, commonly 10G, 100G or 400G | Are the end points fixed and is a managed optical service preferred? |
| Dark fibre | High control, scalable capacity and long-term strategic routes | Can the client operate the optics and accept responsibility for the active layer? |
| Microwave | Mast sites, remote locations, rapid deployment or route diversity | Is clear line of sight available and is spectrum, capacity and weather performance suitable? |
| Mobile or satellite | Temporary service, backup, remote telemetry or sites where fixed infrastructure is unavailable | Will coverage, latency, data allowance and service assurance meet the operational need? |
Several products may be used together. For example, a site may use a fibre-based primary service and an independently routed microwave, mobile or satellite backup.
What the estimate must include
A credible estimate separates the monthly service charge from the work required to reach and prepare the site.
- Carrier installation and connection charges
- Monthly or annual recurring service charges
- Excess construction charges and civils
- Duct, chambers, fibre, splicing and testing
- Wayleaves, consents and private-land access
- Internal containment, meet-me room and power requirements
- Network equipment, optics, routing and security
- Project management, surveys and design
- Testing, acceptance and contingency
- Future upgrades, contract changes and termination exposure
A practical procurement sequence
Existing fibre, ducts, services, handovers, contracts, capacity and resilience.
Operational use, capacity, destinations, resilience, programme, budget and support.
Nearby networks, viable corridors, likely handovers and route constraints.
A clear response schedule so carriers quote the same requirement.
Surveys, access, wayleaves, civils, installation, testing and handover.
Monitoring, fault escalation, incident reporting, service reviews and lifecycle management.
Where CROSS fits
CROSS can support one stage or act as the accountable connectivity workstream from the existing-infrastructure review through carrier procurement, live-service handover and optional operational assurance. The client does not need to know the product before engaging us.
Frequently asked questions
Common questions
Do we need fibre at every new site?
No. Fibre may be the preferred primary service for capacity or assurance, but microwave, mobile or satellite can be appropriate for temporary use, backup or remote sites. The choice should follow the operational requirement.
Can CROSS give an initial view before the site is acquired?
Yes. A desktop screen can identify the likely carrier landscape, obvious route constraints, probable product options and the questions that need deeper investigation.
What information is needed to start?
A postcode, coordinates or site boundary, the project type, target live date and a basic description of what the connection needs to support are enough for an initial review.
Can one supplier provide both primary and backup connectivity?
It can, but the physical routes, underlying wholesale networks, nodes, power and operational dependencies must be checked. Two services on one invoice are not automatically diverse.
Apply this to a live site
You do not need to know the product before speaking to us.
Send us the site, project or carrier quotation and we will identify the most useful next step.