Neos announced his appointment to the team today, saying he will provide direction to the board as the company continues to expand its delivery of high capacity, business-grade connectivity services across the UK.
Passingham said: “The UK’s fibre rollout is in full swing, and Neos Networks is playing a critical role in delivering the UK’s digital infrastructure.”
Neos said last December that it is expanding its wholesale fibre network in Liverpool, Birmingham, Manchester and London, and that it had signed a deal with the local authority that covers Oxford. It is also building a national network for Three UK, the mobile operator owned by CK Hutchison of Hong Kong.
In April 2021 it announced an Ethernet over FTTx (EoFTTx) service, with a 1Gbps solution designed to support growing demand for a full suite of Ethernet services. Neos Networks said it can support a range of capacities up to 100Gbps through its online pricing portal, Livequote.
Passingham said: “I’m looking forward to working with the Neos Networks executive leadership team as we look to accelerate the delivery of the services that underpin the future of smart cities, the cloud, content and telecommunications providers plus unlock business opportunities for alternative network operators, web giants and the UK public sector.”
Passingham is also a global ambassador for Télécoms sans Frontières (TSF), a charity – supported by Capacity – that provides communications for global disaster relief, and he is a patron and trustee of the British Exploring Society.
He is also the chairman of Cambridge Management Consulting, chairman of an IoT pollution reduction technology business, Iknaia, co-founder and non-executive director of sustainability consultancy Edenseven, a non-executive director of the Carrier Club and a non-executive director of Lightning Fibre, an alternative network in the south of England.
Neos CEO Colin Sempill said: “Tim brings a breadth of industry expertise and insight that will provide invaluable direction to the business. Following a year that saw us invest heavily in network growth and expansion, Tim will help drive company momentum forward as we support the UK government’s levelling up plans to meet its ambitions for a gigabit Britain.”
