25 Years of Partnership: Sceptre’s Journey with CommScope

Twenty-five years is a long time in technology.

Network speeds have transformed, fibre has become fundamental to modern infrastructure, buildings have become increasingly connected and the demands placed on the physical network have grown considerably.

The names behind the technology have changed too.

For Sceptre, one relationship has continued throughout much of that evolution.

For 25 years, Sceptre Founder Tony Benning and the Sceptre team have worked with the technologies and structured cabling solutions that today form part of CommScope, an Amphenol company.

When that relationship began, however, CommScope wasn’t the name Sceptre knew.

Tony has seen the technology evolve through different names and ownership, while Sceptre itself has grown and developed alongside it.

Today, that long-standing relationship has progressed considerably. Sceptre has held CommScope Premier Solution Provider status for three years and our technical expertise spans SYSTIMAX, NETCONNECT and GigaREACH XL.

Sceptre is a SYSTIMAX Certified Installer, NETCONNECT Certified Installer and GigaREACH XL Certified Installer, having also been among the first companies to achieve certification for GigaREACH XL.

For us, those certifications represent the latest stage of a relationship built over a quarter of a century.

A history that goes back further than CommScope

The history behind the technology stretches back decades.

The roots of SYSTIMAX can be traced through Western Electric and AT&T, including the development of AT&T’s Premises Distribution System.

SYSTIMAX was launched in 1989, beginning a journey that would see the technology move through some of the biggest names in telecommunications and network infrastructure.

From AT&T, the journey continued through Lucent Technologies and Avaya before becoming part of CommScope.

More recently, another chapter has begun, with CommScope becoming part of the Amphenol family.

Western Electric. AT&T. Lucent Technologies. Avaya. CommScope. CommScope, Amphenol.

The names have changed.

The technology has evolved.

But the importance of reliable physical network infrastructure has remained.

25 years of first-hand experience

For Tony Benning, Founder of Sceptre, that history isn’t simply an industry timeline.

He has experienced a significant part of it first-hand.

Tony’s relationship with these structured cabling solutions stretches back 25 years, when the technology sat under a different name and ownership.

Since then, he has seen structured cabling progress through generations of technology as the demands placed on enterprise networks have increased dramatically.

During those same years, Sceptre has evolved too.

From structured cabling and fibre to complex data centre environments, network infrastructure and wireless connectivity, the breadth and technical complexity of the projects our teams deliver today has grown considerably.

What hasn’t changed is our focus on the quality of the infrastructure underneath it all.

From Sceptre’s Founder to the next generation

There is also a personal story behind those 25 years.

Tony founded Sceptre and built the business around technical knowledge, quality installation and long-term relationships.

Today, Sceptre is led by Tony’s son, David Benning, Managing Director.

That continuity matters to us.

The experience and knowledge developed over nearly three decades remains within Sceptre, while David leads the business into its next generation and continues to invest in the technologies, skills and partnerships our customers will need in the future.

Technology doesn’t stand still.

Neither can we.

Premier Solution Provider

For the past three years, Sceptre has held CommScope Premier Solution Provider status.

But it’s the expertise sitting behind that status that we’re particularly proud of.

Today, Sceptre holds certifications across three important CommScope solutions:

SYSTIMAX Certified

SYSTIMAX is CommScope’s enterprise network connectivity platform, encompassing high-performance copper, fibre and wider connectivity solutions.

NETCONNECT Certified

NETCONNECT provides structured connectivity solutions for a broad range of network infrastructure requirements.

GigaREACH XL Certified Installer

One of CommScope’s newer developments, GigaREACH XL provides extended-reach copper connectivity designed to support network-connected devices beyond conventional Ethernet distances.

Together, these certifications demonstrate the breadth of CommScope infrastructure our teams are trained and qualified to deliver.

For our customers, that expertise provides more than another accreditation on a tender document.

It means working with teams that understand the systems they install and have access to the manufacturer knowledge, technical support and warranty programmes behind those solutions.

From established technology to what comes next

GigaREACH XL is a particularly good example of how a 25-year relationship can continue to develop.

Sceptre was among the first companies to achieve GigaREACH XL Certified Installer status.

Traditional Category 6 and Category 6A Ethernet channels have typically been associated with a 100-metre distance limitation.

GigaREACH XL has been developed for environments where connected devices need to go further, supporting data and Power over Ethernet across considerably greater distances.

That creates new possibilities for connected buildings, particularly where devices such as CCTV cameras, wireless access points, access control, building systems and other edge technologies may sit further from a telecommunications room.

For Sceptre, becoming an early certified installer wasn’t simply about adding another certification.

It was about understanding where network infrastructure is going next.

We’ll explore GigaREACH XL properly in a separate technical insight, including how the technology works and where extended-reach connectivity can provide practical benefits.

Experience backed by certification

Twenty-five years of experience gives Sceptre a considerable amount of history with these technologies.

But experience alone isn’t enough.

The standards, products and applications we’re working with continue to change, which is why ongoing manufacturer training and certification remain important.

Our SYSTIMAX, NETCONNECT and GigaREACH XL certifications, alongside our Premier Solution Provider status, combine that long-standing experience with current technical expertise.

It’s a relationship that stretches from Tony’s early years building Sceptre to the business David leads today.

And it continues to develop.

The technology changes. The fundamentals don’t.

The network infrastructure Sceptre installs today is very different from the infrastructure being installed 25 years ago.

Networks are faster.

Fibre is more prevalent.

Data centres are more powerful.

Buildings contain more connected devices.

Wireless connectivity has become essential.

And organisations depend on their digital infrastructure more than ever.

But the fundamentals haven’t changed nearly as much.

Understand the requirement.

Design the right solution.

Use the right technology.

Install it correctly.

Test it properly.

And leave the customer with infrastructure they can depend on.

Those principles have been part of Sceptre since Tony founded the business and remain part of how we operate under David’s leadership today.

25 years behind us and still looking forward

Twenty-five years gives us plenty to look back on.

Tony has seen the names change, the technology evolve and the capabilities of structured cabling develop enormously.

Sceptre has developed alongside it.

Today, with David leading the next generation of the business, Premier Solution Provider status and certifications across SYSTIMAX, NETCONNECT and GigaREACH XL demonstrate that the relationship isn’t simply part of our history.

It’s part of our future too.

And with CommScope now an Amphenol company, another chapter is beginning.

After 25 years, we’re proud of the experience behind the relationship.

But we’re even more interested in where it goes next.

25 years of partnership. Nearly 30 years of Sceptre. Generations of technology  and we’re still looking forward.