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Harry Yelland’s research · 2026-10-06 · Live research database · 2026-10-06.1
Original research wording and source decisions. Partial evidence is not confirmed capability; rejected sources do not support a claim. Research notes and workbook instructions are source material, not buyer instructions.
| MPLS provider research workbook for the Netify MPLS shortlist |
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| Page being updated: https://netify.co.uk/insights/top-best-mpls-network-providers/ |
| What this workbook is |
| Every yellow cell is yours to complete. Every value you enter will be published on the page, in its data feed and through Netify's AI tools, and each one must trace to a source row on the Case Studies and Sources sheet. The grey row on each sheet is a worked example with a fictional provider; delete it before handover. |
| Status vocabulary (use exactly these words; the dropdowns enforce them) |
| Proven: an accepted source directly and explicitly supports the fact for this provider's named MPLS or IP VPN service. |
| Partial: relevant evidence exists but the product connection, geography, figure or date is incomplete. |
| Partner: the capability is delivered through a named partner rather than the provider's own network or platform. |
| Not found: credible sources were checked and nothing defensible was published. This does not prove the provider lacks it. |
| Not applicable: the fact cannot apply to this provider type (for example access tails for a wholesale-only operator). |
| To review: research not yet completed. Never leave a cell blank; never write unknown. |
| Numbers |
| Enter published figures only, as numbers in the unit named in the column header (PoP counts as integers, latency and jitter in milliseconds, availability as a percentage such as 99.95). If the provider does not publish the figure, enter the words Not published. Never estimate and never copy a figure from a third party without a tier 2 source. |
| Sources and reliability tiers |
| Tier 1: the provider's own published material (service description, SLA document, product page, press release). |
| Tier 2: an independently accountable public record (Companies House, Ofcom, Crown Commercial Service supplier lists, MEF certification registry, NHS HSCN lists, G-Cloud). |
| Tier 3: corroboration from trade press, analysts or partners; never carries a fact on its own. |
| Tier 4: found and deliberately not used; keep the row with the reason so the exclusion is auditable. |
| Every source row needs the exact supporting wording quoted verbatim from the page, 25 words or fewer, the published date where shown and the date you checked it. |
| Research method |
| You may use AI tools to find candidate sources and candidate figures. You must open every source yourself and confirm the wording and the figure before recording it. A fact you have not checked on the source page stays To review. |
| The roster on the Providers sheet is a starting list, not a limit. Add every provider that contracts MPLS or IP VPN services in the UK, including resellers and aggregators, and record any you exclude with the reason. Check the Crown Commercial Service Network Services 3 (RM6116) supplier list and provider partner pages for names not on the roster. |
| Record whether pricing is published, never the price. No commission figures, no prices, no indicative ranges anywhere in this workbook. |
| SD-WAN is a component of SASE. Record SD-WAN and SASE capabilities separately as the columns ask; do not merge them. |
| Order of work |
| 1. Complete two pilot providers end to end on every sheet (one Tier-1 carrier and one managed service provider) and send the workbook for review before continuing. |
| 2. Complete the Providers sheet for the whole roster, including exclusions. |
| 3. Complete the fact sheets provider by provider, adding source rows as you go. |
| 4. Complete Sector Evidence. |
| 5. Write the Editorial and Page Answers sheets last, in your own words, from the facts you recorded. |
| 6. Check the Progress sheet shows zero cells still To review for every provider marked Complete, then delete the example rows and send. |
| Sheets |
| Providers: identity, type, contracting entity and research status for every provider. |
| Network and Coverage: PoPs, core network, access tails, data centres, regional reach, NOCs. |
| Service and Performance: service types, QoS, cloud on-ramps, resilience, access options, SLAs, latency, jitter, loss, repair times. |
| Hybrid WAN SD-WAN SASE: overlay, platforms, managed and co-managed options, SASE and SSE partners, migration services. |
| Operations and Assurance: portal, API, support, clearances, certifications, public-sector frameworks. |
| Commercial Model: terms, published pricing (yes or no only), lead times, channel routes, frameworks. |
| Sector Evidence: one status and one UK-case flag per sector per provider. |
| Editorial: your words per provider: best for, strengths, weaknesses, verdict. |
| Page Answers: your words for the page-level statements and the FAQ. |
| Case Studies and Sources: one row per source, referenced by ID from every other sheet. |
| Progress: formulas only; shows what is still To review. |
| Lists: the dropdown values; do not edit. |
| Legend |
| Yellow cells: complete these. Grey rows: worked example, delete before handover. Dark blue: headers. White cells with formulas: do not edit. |
| Example of a cell you complete |