01 February 2023

Visitors to the British Library’s flagship St. Pancras premises will now enjoy improved internet connectivity, thanks to innovative WiFi 6 technology implemented by North.

The move to an upgraded WiFi system is part of a £1.7 million contract extension for North from the British Library – a partnership which has been ongoing for more than eight years.

North has replaced 126 WiFi access points at the St. Pancras building, which will allow for faster internet connections across the iconic building through next generation WiFi 6 technology for higher speed and superior performance.

The state-of-the-art upgrade will help to futureproof the venue’s WiFi network, with North also ensuring that hardware devices and software are upgraded to the best-in-class technology available. Both visitors and staff are expected to see a significant improvement to connectivity, enabling consistently excellent and free access to digital services going forward.

“We are constantly looking at ways to improve user experience and, in our now digital-first era, ensuring that we can offer users free access to best-in-class WiFi is essential,” said Simon Wilcock, head of Technology Operations at the British Library. “Our partnership with North has underpinned and strengthened the services we’re able to offer and we are delighted to extend our relationship with the team that fully understands our specific needs. The British Library is for everyone and we are looking forward to welcoming more visitors with the confidence of our enhanced free Wi-Fi network.”

In addition to the connectivity improvements, North is also overhauling the British Library’s core WiFi network infrastructure to ensure that all equipment exceeds modern-day business standard. Remediation of the existing core structure is almost complete which will create an intelligent, integrated network solution for the British Library to benefit from.

“Our ongoing relationship with the British Library is testament to the experience, local knowledge and flexibility of the North team. The extension of our contract with the team is a significant milestone for North as we drive forward an ambitious pipeline of public sector contracts,” said Andy Parr, head of Sales Operations at North. “For more than eight years, we have worked in partnership with the British Library to mobilise innovative and effective network and connectivity services that will help them to flourish digitally. We are really pleased to be continuing this work and look forward to building on our relationship.”