A faster, more resilient dedicated connection to Microsoft
We’re pleased to announce a significant enhancement to our network that will improve access to Microsoft services for schools, Multi-Academy Trusts and public sector organisations across England.
As the largest commercial provider of internet connectivity to schools in the UK, Schools Broadband was invited by Microsoft, to establish a direct 100Gbps connection between our network and Microsoft’s cloud infrastructure.
For our customers, this means a more direct route to many of the Microsoft services used every day, helping to deliver faster performance, lower latency, and an even more reliable user experience.
What does this mean for your school?
Microsoft is the second-busiest source of internet traffic across our customer base, behind only Google with many applications schools rely on hosted within Microsoft’s cloud environment. The new connection gives traffic between our network and Microsoft a shorter, more direct route, helping to deliver faster speeds, lower latency and more responsive cloud applications.
By connecting the Schools Broadband network directly to Microsoft, data moves more efficiently between users and Microsoft’s cloud network without having to travel through as many third-party networks before reaching its destination. The result is improved performance when accessing services such as:
- Microsoft 365
- Outlook and Exchange Online
- Microsoft Teams
- SharePoint
- OneDrive
- Entra ID
- Intune
- Windows Update
- Microsoft Defender
- Azure services
Improved resilience
Alongside improved performance, this direct connection adds further resilience to our network. However, in the unlikely event that the dedicated link becomes unavailable, traffic can still reach Microsoft through multiple alternative routes, ensuring continued uninterrupted access to critical services.
Continuing to invest in connectivity
This latest enhancement builds upon our long-standing investment in network performance. We also maintain direct connectivity with Google, helping optimise access to services widely used across the education sector.
Together, these investments help ensure our customers benefit from fast, reliable and resilient access to cloud applications that support teaching, learning and school operations every day.
Technical Q&As
Do all Internet Service Providers have direct access to Microsoft’s cloud network?
No.
Direct connectivity to Microsoft’s global network is only available to a relatively small number of internet providers that meet Microsoft’s technical and traffic requirements. Schools Broadband exchanges a significant volume of traffic with Microsoft every day, supporting services such as Microsoft 365, Teams, OneDrive, Intune and Azure.
By establishing a dedicated 100Gbps connection between our network and Microsoft’s, traffic can take a shorter, more efficient path to Microsoft’s services, helping to improve performance and reliability for our customers.
What Microsoft services benefit from this direct connection?
Many of the Microsoft services schools and Trusts rely on every day will now travel over this dedicated connection, including:
- Microsoft 365 applications such as Outlook, Exchange, Teams, SharePoint and OneDrive
- Microsoft Teams Voice and Azure Communication Services
- Microsoft Entra ID authentication services
- Microsoft Intune device management
- Windows Update
- Microsoft Defender security services
- Azure-hosted applications and virtual machines
What difference will schools actually notice?
Most users will not need to change anything or take any action.
The benefits are delivered automatically through our network and are most noticeable in the responsiveness of cloud-based Microsoft services. Activities such as opening files from OneDrive or SharePoint, joining Teams meetings, authenticating through Entra ID, downloading updates and accessing Azure-hosted applications all benefit from a more direct network path.
While the improvement may be measured in milliseconds, those gains are experienced repeatedly throughout the day across an organisation, contributing to a smoother and more reliable user experience.
How does the connection increase resilience?
The new Microsoft connection provides an additional dedicated route into Microsoft’s network, increasing overall resilience. In the unlikely event that this connection becomes unavailable, traffic will automatically continue to reach Microsoft through multiple alternative routes already available within the Schools Broadband network.
This means the dedicated link is not the only route available, and Microsoft services can continue to be reached if it becomes unavailable.
How can we prove the connection is live?
For technically minded users, a traceroute (tracert) to a Microsoft destination can demonstrate that traffic is passing directly from the Schools Broadband network into Microsoft’s network.
For example, running a traceroute to the Microsoft IP address 104.44.195.112 will show the transition between the two networks. Some later hops may appear as an asterisk (*) because Microsoft hides parts of its internal network. This is normal and does not affect the service.
Did you know we also have a direct connection to Google?
Microsoft is not the only global technology provider we connect with directly.
Schools Broadband has operated a direct connection into Google’s network for around five years. Originally deployed at 10Gbps, the link was subsequently upgraded to 20Gbps and more recently to 100Gbps to accommodate increasing demand.
With services such as YouTube and Google Workspace generating significant volumes of traffic across education, this direct connection supports improved performance, increased capacity, and enhanced resilience.
Together, these services represent a significant proportion of the daily digital activity within schools and Trusts. By connecting directly to Microsoft’s network, Schools Broadband is helping to ensure that the cloud services staff and students rely on every day are delivered with strong performance, capacity and resilience.
