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Local tech firm Connexin invests £5m in new data centre for Hull

Homegrown internet firm Connexin is building a state-of-the -art £5m data centre, which has been specially designed to accelerate Hull in its race to become one of the UK’s leading smart cities.

When the facility opens in December it will create 60 new jobs including engineers, technicians, sales staff and event managers who will invite schools to use the space for learning about how the internet works.

The new data centre, which is called CXNDC, will create new opportunities for local businesses and technology firms. The 200+ rack facility has been designed to ‘tier-3’ reliability specifications and will bring more than 40,000 Mbps of internet connectivity to the region.

Furqan Alamgir, Connexin CEO, said: “Hull is not hanging about in its race to become a smart city.  Our investment is real, it’s happening and this state of the art data centre is proof of that. Hull is advancing technologically at pace and it’s a privilege to be part of it.”

Connexin has applied for planning permission with East Riding of Yorkshire Council to develop the facility on a 1.2-acre site at Bridgehead Business Park and has approached the Humber Local Enterprise Partnership’s funding programmes for support with the project costs. It will also be the home for Connexin’s headquarters, which will include a cafe, 50+ seat auditorium for presentations and screenings, and a world-class video conferencing suite.  

The data centre will offer businesses the option of managed or co-located facilities. Most of the centre’s capacity has already been acquired by business customers in the region, but more is being added and the facility is open for new business enquiries.

Since Connexin won a key ten-year city centre wi-fi contract with Hull City Council, the company has expanded its work with local authorities across the UK and has rapidly become a leader in the smart cities sector.  

If you would like to contact Andy Walker about this, or any other story, please email awalker@infrastructure-intelligence.com.