Food Rescue Needs Fast Internet: UKHarvest's Win

Company

UKHarvest

Industry

Non Profit | Food Rescue | Education

Location

Chichester

Website

Description

UKHarvest: a food rescue and education charity based near Chichester. They fight food waste and feed families. But their rural location was crippling their operations.

The Problem: Relocation into a Connectivity Black Hole

UKHarvest moved to new headquarters in a semi-rural area near Chichester. The location made sense operationally. But then they connected to the internet. It was like stepping back into 2005. Fibre was impossible. Mobile signal was spotty. The local exchange was miles away.

For a mission-critical NGO, slow internet isn't just frustrating—it's damaging. Dropped video calls with donors. Sluggish systems processing food distributions. VoIP constantly failing. Every hour of downtime meant families going hungry.

The Clock Was Ticking

Waiting for fibre infrastructure wasn't an option. Traditional leased lines meant months of installation. The team needed real connectivity—fast—to run their operations, support remote team members, and keep their VoIP system alive. Delay meant inefficiency. Inefficiency meant impact on their mission.

The Solution: Bonded Mobile Networks, Enterprise Grade

Integra surveyed the site and fast-tracked a decision: forget waiting for fibre. The mobile networks already covering the area could do the job—if bonded properly. They deployed SD-WAN technology that combined multiple 4G and 5G signals into a single, reliable, high-speed connection.

The installation finished in two weeks. Result: over 325Mbps download speeds, redundancy across networks, and a Wi-Fi system that actually works. UKHarvest's team can now call donors, process distributions, and support their mission without fighting their internet connection.