As Manchester establishes its position as a leader in the nation’s digital revolution, connectivity and modern infrastructure are becoming more and more central to the future of the city. This is why landlords and businesses are looking for ways to ensure they can rely on the latest internet infrastructure, that is not only robust enough for today’s needs, but also ready for future uses.
To help them solve this problem, WiredScore, the UK’s digital connectivity rating scheme for commercial office buildings, has just launched in Manchester.
Founded in New York, WiredScore has created the first standardised rating system, Wired Certification, to measure how resilient and reliable a building’s connection to the internet is. Before WiredScore, businesses had no easy way to assess the connectivity quality of their new office before moving in, and landlords had no way to easily communicate the superior infrastructure of their building against their competitors.
The introduction of a standard, international accreditation creates a new incentive to speed up the proliferation of high-speed internet, and makes it easier for tenants to choose a location that can meet their connectivity needs.
It all started in New York
Founded in 2013 as WiredNYC in partnership with Michael Bloomberg, former Mayor of New York City, WiredScore was created to measure how well connected buildings are, and empower businesses to choose the best location.
WiredScore now covers more than 45 cities across the United States, and launched in London in 2015 with a mandate from the GLA as the Mayor’s official digital connectivity rating scheme. Following success in the capital, WiredScore launched in Manchester in September 2016 and now covers all of the UK. Over 300M square feet of office stock has been Wired Certified across the globe, complying with the strict and transparent standards required from the building’s infrastructure.
“I am delighted that WiredScore is now supporting Manchester’s property community in improving its underlying connectivity infrastructure to enable future business growth”
— Sir Howard Bernstein, Chief Executive of Manchester City Council
Since expanding to the rest of the UK, WiredScore has been embraced by many prominent landlords including Derwent London, Blackstone, LaSalle Investment Management, Peel, Property Alliance, Blackrock, Helical Bar, Blackstone and British Land.
The benefits of being certified
Wired Certification equips landlords and property managers with a new tool to communicate the superiority of their building’s infrastructure, and be listed amongst the most well connected buildings in the world. This is an effective marketing tool to differentiate your property and convey the cutting-edge level of infrastructure available in your building.
According to Tech Nation’s 2016 report, “high-speed connectivity remains a priority for digital tech businesses with 28% reporting digital infrastructure as a challenge”.
Wired Certified buildings allow businesses to select the right place to thrive, while enabling premises to stand out as competitive and ready for the future.
How to get certified?
Both existing commercial buildings and planned developments can get ready to obtain WiredScore’s Wired Certification, regardless of occupied status. WiredScore have two different certifications, one for occupied buildings and one for Development & Redevelopment, in order to allow landlords to future proof their commercial schemes to match evolving technology.
Once scored, a Wired Certified building falls into one of five ratings Non-Certified, Certified, Silver, Gold and Platinum, each representing a different level of infrastructure and a number of providers.
The level granted depends on different factors, depending on the certification type, but ultimately aims to complement the lived experience of an occupier, including things like::
Connectivity, looking at the number of internet service providers available to tenants in order to give them flexibility in selecting a provider.
Infrastructure, which is specific to each building and the diversity of its infrastructure, including aspects such as multiple points of entry, diverse risers, and secure telecommunications equipment.
Readiness, identifying best practices to streamline the legal process of setting occupiers up with a new internet service providers, including Wayleave Agreements from both the landlord and current providers in the building.
If you would like more information on WiredScore and how to get your building Wired Certified, email WiredScore directly or visit WiredScore.co.uk to get in touch with the WiredScore team.
If you want to bring ultrafast internet to your office or building, have a look at our business internet offers and our newest enterprise package. For more information, just get in touch with our team!
