Over 100 North East schools receive faster broadband with £8m contract win

Aspire Technology Solutions has won an £8m contract to improve internet connections across North East schools.

The contract is with One IT Services and Solutions, a technology firm, and will aim to help around 150 schools across County Durham, Teesside as well as Tyne and Wear.

The firm is supplying high-speed connections to schools in Sunderland, Durham, Hartlepool, Redcar, Stockton and Middlesbrough, working with Stockton’s One IT.

Andrea Warburton, One IT Services and Solutions’ managing director, said the firm was pleased to award this to a local firm: “Aspire stood head and shoulders above the competition in what they were able to do.

“When we chose Aspire, we were obviously interested in the fact that the company was local to the North East, but they also provided best value which was very important to us.

“Working with schools to supply their broadband is a very specialised area and we were impressed with Aspire’s understanding of how schools and their technology operates, and we knew this was the firm for the job.”

Based at Heworth Hall in Gateshead, Aspire Technology Services offers many services including hosted services, data centre solutions, communications and IT support.

It boasts clients across sectors including business, sport, law, waste management and entertainment, but the contract with One IT is its largest to date.

Paul Shill, Aspire’s senior account manager, commented: “We work across many sectors but we are delighted that we are now being seen as a major player in the education sector because of the services we can provide.

“Our team has all the skills required to deal with the high demands of working with schools in this way, and so far, we’ve installed around 160 leased lines in schools.

“We are very proud that One IT chose Aspire ahead of some of the biggest technology firms in the country, and we aim to deliver the best service possible to prove they made the right choice.”