• JT chooses Renault LCVs to aid delivery of its world-class ‘Gigabit Jersey’ programme
• Leading Internet Service Provider orders 10 Renault Trafics and nine Renault Masters
• Renault LCVs chosen over vehicles from three other manufacturers
• Renault LCVs come with four-year/100,000-mile warranty
World-leading superfast fibre broadband is to be installed in every home and business in Jersey with help from a fleet of Renault Trafic and Master Panel Vans.
Comprising of 10 Trafic and nine Master models, the Renault fleet has been bought by JT (formally Jersey Telecoms) to use solely in the delivery of its ‘Gigabit Jersey’ programme – the award-winning Internet Service Provider’s (ISP) strategy that will provide everyone on the island of Jersey with the opportunity to benefit from full FTTP (Fibre to the Premises) broadband.
JT has laid over 1,000,000 metres of cabling throughout the island to complete the fibre network’s backbone. All schools are connected to fibre with a total of 50 per cent of Jersey’s broadband users now on the advanced network and enjoying internet speeds of up to 1Gbit/s – the fastest for a residential network in the western world.
The Renault LCVs will be used by JT’s technicians in the ongoing installation of the advanced fibre network that replaces the island’s existing copper network, which dates from 1948 and until now has been used to provide broadband services. The upgrade will make Jersey one of the most connected places in the world.
JT pitched vehicles from four manufacturers against each other before opting for the Renault Trafic and Masters – its first ever models from Europe’s leading LCV brand. The Trafics were chosen with a short wheelbase, low roof (SL27) format with the dCi 115 1.6-litre turbodiesel engine, while the Masters were specified with a medium wheelbase, medium roof (MM33) and the dCi 125 2.3-litre turbodiesel engine. Both models feature the well-equipped Business level of trim, which includes DAB radio with Bluetooth, ESC (Electronic Stability Control) with HSA (Hill Start Assist) and Grip Xtend; which allows the vehicle to regain traction on loose ground such as sand, mud or snow; electric front windows and remote central locking.
Supplied by Bagot Road Garage Ltd, which was recently nominated as a ‘Dealer of Excellence’ by Renault in its new ‘Driver Power – Dealer of Excellence’ awards in association with Auto Express magazine, the Trafic and Master Panel Vans were particularly attractive to JT. This was due to their dimensions, payload and short lead time – the company requiring its first vehicles in only three weeks from the date of ordering. JT bought its vans outright and will benefit from the four-year/100,000-mile warranty and roadside assistance package that comes as standard with all Renault LCVs.
Kevin Hunt, Procurement Manager at JT, said: “Our vans will only cover a few miles each day but they will be in constant use and are absolutely critical to the success of the gigabit project.
“Our criteria was quite unique as we needed vehicles that could accommodate a lot of heavy, bulky kit and still have enough room for operatives to work in the back, but at the same time they had to, literally, be a good fit for the thin local roads. Although offering plenty of space and a good payload, we found that the width of the Renault vans was especially suited to the island’s infrastructure – something that was very important as with FTTP broadband we are running cables right up to the door of every house.”
Hunt continued: “The vans are proving to be very efficient and our technicians have been very complimentary about the drive and the levels of comfort. The service that we have received throughout the order has been exemplary too.”
Nick Tame, Sales Director, Groupe Renault UK, said: “We are delighted that JT has chosen to rely on Renault LCVs for such an important project and the company’s confidence in the product underlines why Renault continues to be a dominant force in the very competitive European LCV market.”
The Renault Master is available from £18,995 OTR In Jersey. Customers can choose from five different engines, front-wheel drive or rear-wheel drive; and three bodystyles – Panel Van, Crew Van and Passenger.
Available with a choice of four efficient turbo diesel engines, the award-winning Renault Traffic is available in Panel Van, Crew Van and Passenger bodystyles. It is priced from £18,475 ex. VAT.
All Renault LCV vehicles come with the reassurance of the Renault Business Quality Commitment – the manufacturer’s 13-point plan that guarantees customers will receive a class-leading service. Designed to keep customers moving no matter what and deliver hassle-free business motoring, the plan covers everything from an impressive warranty and transparent pricing to the availability of courtesy vehicles and a dedicated customer hotline.
Renault van sales in the UK grew by 20.8 per cent to 6,618 vehicles in the first quarter of 2016, in a van market that slightly decreased by 0.5 per cent, according to official figures from the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT). LCV market share for the first quarter stood at 6.6 per cent – up 1.2 percentage points on 2015.
Renault’s growth in the van market builds upon a record year for LCV sales in the UK last year and also the manufacturer being the best-selling LCV brand in Europe for the 18th consecutive year.
About Groupe Renault
Groupe Renault has been making cars since 1898. Today it is an international multi-brand group, selling more than 2.8 million vehicles in 125 countries in 2015, with 36 manufacturing sites, 12,000 sales outlets and employing more than 120,000 people.
To meet the major technological challenges of the future and continue its strategy of profitable growth, the Group is harnessing its international growth and the complementary fit of its three brands, Renault, Dacia and Renault Samsung Motors, together with electric vehicles and the unique Alliance with Nissan. With a new team in Formula 1 and a strong commitment to Formula E, Renault sees motorsport as a vector of innovation and brand awareness.
In the UK, Groupe Renault UK has nearly 160 dealers selling the range of Renault cars, LCVs and Dacia. Groupe Renault UK sales significantly outpaced the UK vehicle market during 2015, with sales totalling 127,343 vehicles – up 17.4 per cent on 2014.
About JT Group
JT, (formerly Jersey Telecom), is a full-service Tier-1 global consumer and business enterprise provider with a 120-year heritage.
Headquartered in the Channel Islands, JT offers a domestic and global customer base a range of world-class services including; voice and data; consultancy; co-location; leading-edge data hosting; internet; security; cloud back-up; fixed and mobile technologies; eGaming; M2M; Cloud Services (IaaS); fully managed IT services; and wholesale solutions.
Across 11 global locations, JT employs over 600 staff providing products and services to over 1 million global consumer subscribers and 2,177 active business customers. Its recent success in winning the contract to build a system to host up to 25,000 users for a large US firm is testament to its far-reaching capability.
JT has invested heavily in a resilient off-island network, helping robustly connect the Channel Islands internationally and support their place on the global business stage. Furthermore, in support of local domestic and business customers its award winning Gigabit Isles point-to-point fibre optic network programme, which is reaching conclusion in Jersey and progressing in Guernsey, has seen Jersey rank 4th globally for fibre connectivity. With further investment into delivering a new pan-island Advanced 4G mobile network, JT is ensuring that the Channel Islands are one of the most seamlessly connected places in the world.
As the Channel Island’s leading data hosting provider, JT’s facilities are widely recognised as the largest, most accredited and secure in the Channel Islands supporting international eGaming and finance industry customers. As well as achieving the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI-DSS), JT’s 5 data centres are also SOC certified (Service Organisation Certification) and comply with the European standard ISO27001.
JT has a vision to become the partner of choice for global telecommunications innovation and has built long-standing partnerships with some of the World’s leading communications businesses to deliver the products and services expected from a cutting edge Tier 1 telecoms operator. Notably, JT holds Avaya Platinum Partner Status, is a member of Dimension Data’s One Cloud Alliance and is a certified Cisco Service Provider.
Find out more visit:
www.jtglobal.com
www.gigabitjersey.com
Twitter: @jt_business
LinkedIn: JT Group Limited
