Platinum Standard Connectivity For New North East Workplace

Portland House, the former headquarters of Newcastle Building Society, which is being transformed as part of multi-million-pound refurbishment programme, has been certified as WiredScore Platinum.

WiredScore is the global digital connectivity certification system that assesses and benchmarks buildings’ digital infrastructure.

The WiredScore certification seal is a trusted symbol that identifies buildings that have been independently assessed to provide the best-in-class connectivity infrastructure that businesses require to thrive.

WiredScore Platinum recognises Portland House’s ‘outstanding’ digital connectivity and its readiness to meet the connectivity capacity for virtually any occupier.

Specifically, the rating reflects the high quality of the building’s backbone cabling, the capacity and diversity of the building’s telecommunications points of entry and cable pathways, and the availability of high speed and reliable mobile and wireless connectivity for tenants.

Portland House is one of the first buildings in the North East to attain Platinum certification, reflecting its commitment to meeting the growing demand from businesses for premium digital connectivity.

The major revamp of the 1990s-built office will create 60,000 sq. ft. of modern workspace across five floors in the heart of the city and forms part of the East Pilgrim Street development framework.

James Keegan, one of the developers behind the transformation of Portland House, said: “Connectivity has never been more important for businesses. Achieving WiredScore Platinum is not only a fantastic achievement, but also affirms Portland House’s commitment to providing its tenants with a building that will truly meet their connectivity needs now, and in the future.

To achieve this rating, we have provided our occupiers with an Ultrafast Dedicated Connection (UDC) delivering symmetrical and uncontended speeds of up to 100Gbs. To ensure unbroken connectivity we have a  BT Openreach leased line as a primary failover, a 5G connection as a secondary failover, and a UPS and generator providing back-up power to our two telecommunication rooms.

“There is no other office building in the North East that matches this offering.”

Founded in 2013, WiredScore is the organisation behind the WiredScore and SmartScore certifications. These are internationally recognised digital connectivity and smart building rating systems for real estate, helping landlords design and promote buildings with powerful digital connectivity and smart capabilities.

Used by landlords globally, WiredScore to date, has certified over 650 million square feet of commercial office space, impacting 6 million office workers across 10 countries since its launch.