Fibre broadband specialist Glide announces European expansion plans
Fibre broadband specialist Glide has announced plans to expand its operation into Europe, as a result of demand from leading UK Student Accommodation providers branching out into the overseas market.
UK Student Accommodation has seen record levels of investment, providing Purpose Built Student Accommodation (PBSA) in major cities to accommodate the growing number of university students. The sector is still developing across continental Europe but with higher education becoming a global business, the number of international students is expected to reach 7 million by 2020.
Glide, which has been at the forefront of UK Wi-Fi and fibre broadband for over 25 years, has been a popular choice for UK operators expanding across Europe and in a few short years has achieved distribution of services across a wide range of the best university cities.
In 2009, one of Europe’s premier Purpose Built Student Accommodation (PBSA) developments was opened in Amsterdam – The Student Hotel – with a Glide managed service designed to provide fast and reliable Wi-Fi, reduce cost and space requirements and future proof the building. The Student Hotel plans to have 41 properties in European cities by 2021 all enhanced with first class Wi-Fi from Glide.
Tim Pilcher, CEO at Glide, said: “Glide has been serving its customers in Europe for five years. To continue to serve our ever-growing customer base our operation had to move into Europe. With more than 1,100 pieces of EU green legislation, European developers are ahead of the game in terms of how technology can create zero-carbon buildings and massive operational savings. This technology all relies on robust and resilient networking infrastructure and Wi-Fi. A Glide Smart Fibre Infrastructure™ creates a seamless learning and living environment for students, while reducing the operational costs involved in running the accommodation.
“We are passionate about creating a great customer experience with our super-fast Wi-Fi and Smart enabled buildings. Working with our valued and ambitious PBSA developers and owners we are determined to drive down the cost of running these residences, future-proof the asset and provide an enhanced experience for the student.”