V12 Telecom Helps Brixton Market Connect Traders and Customers
We were recently given the opportunity to update communications for two indoor shopping developments – Brixton Village and Market Row. The sites are managed by Munroe K, a national asset management company. We have worked with Munroe K for a number of years and provides voice and data services to a range of their sites across the UK, and we recently took responsibility for the upgrade of Brixton Village’s telecoms services. This included provision of a hosted voice service and installation of a fibre network so that traders and visitors can access high quality public Wi-Fi.
There are 113 units in Brixton Village and 45 in Market Row. The markets are composed of a diverse mix of restaurants, classic tradesmen and chain companies operating on two economies – day trading from 6am until 6pm for classic market traders, and 6pm until midnight for the night economy which features more restaurants, bars and related activities. V12 were commissioned to update the communications of both shopping centres.
There are 15 members of staff across Brixton Village and Market Row including market officers, security staff, cleaners and porters and there is also an office which is based in Market Row. Duty managers are not always in the office to receive calls, so it was important to implement a new communications system that could automatically divert their calls. This has allowed them to be contactable wherever they are in the market.
Both staff and customers benefit from this setup as it means that officers and staff can concentrate on the market operations, but people can also communicate with them if they call the office number.
V12 have also implemented public and private Wi-Fi for shoppers and traders across Brixton Village and Market Row. The Wi-Fi is set up so that traders can have access with a passcode and customers can use the free Wi-Fi for up to two hours. This is the first time both markets have incorporated Wi-Fi connectivity into their shopping centres and the response has been almost unanimously positive from both traders and customers with traders listing increased footfall among the benefits the Wi-Fi has brought. The Wi-Fi is strong and can be used up to 20 metres away from the building and the password can be used for 24 hours. 110 traders are currently using it to support their businesses with things like electronic payment transfers and accessing emails and apps to support their businesses.
Rachid Ghalaine, Operations Manager at Brixton Village said: “From my experience, I used to deal with classic telecoms where you have to sign a national contract to let one company cover all sites from Glasgow to London. We used to have 36 shopping centres but never got the same quality of service that we are getting at the moment from V12. I got a response on time, and clarification on all the facilities that come from V12, and I appreciate that. The solution I got was very quick and effective and I believe so far from my experience with communications companies and telephone companies that with that we’ve managed to get the best possible on the market now”.
Charles Rickett, Managing Director at V12 Telecom, said: “I’m delighted that V12 Telecom has been selected by Munroe K to update the communications infrastructure at Brixton Village and Market Row. We have worked with Munroe K for many years now, originally providing traditional telecoms services for them – ISDN and LCR. In more recent times they have been upgrading and changing what they are doing across their portfolio, giving us opportunities to look at new technologies and how we can assist Munroe K with their business. It gives me great pleasure to see a client benefitting from the updates we’ve made to their organisation, and I’m thrilled that Brixton Village and Market Row are seeing an increase in footfall as a direct result from the Wi-Fi connectivity we set up at those locations”.
Simon Hartley Director, Munroe K said “Munroe K has enjoyed a strong relationship with V12 Telecom over many years, across a number of different projects, who consistently provide first class solutions and excellent service. We feel that Charles and the team have taken the effort to understand our goals so that we can work together on strategic solutions that fit our needs, and we always know that V12 put us first and are there to support us. Working with V12 has allowed us to develop a relationship where we can grow together – and that’s what makes V12 stand out for us.”