Sandwich Technology School will benefit from new phones, better broadband and savings on its communications bill from Vigilant Global UK, regardless of planning approval for its mast.

The company, which has proposed a communications tower “taller than the Shard” at the site of the former Richborough Power Station, has been working in partnership with the school for several months.

Sandwich Tech will benefit from the installation of an upgraded communications system and the provision of 80 new VoIP high-tech phones.

Bekesbourne tech firm VFast, who Vigilant has also secured an exclusive partnership with, will also install a new line that will double the school’s broadband capacity.

Along with the significant broadband capacity increase, the school will gain from considerable ongoing financial savings, with its monthly communications bill halved as a result of the agreement.

The provision of equipment to Sandwich Technology School will go ahead regardless of the final decision by Dover District Council on the proposed Richborough Mast.

The school’s business manager, Andy Fisher, said: “We are very pleased to be the first recipients of the Richborough Mast community benefits programme.

“Having a comprehensive communications system is vital to the day-to-day activity at the school, and Vigilant Global’s donation will allow us to target school funds where they need to be into teaching and learning rather than our failing phone system.

“We would like to thank Vigilant Global for their generous contribution and support.”

The partnership with VFast and the donation to the school will formally launch Vigilant Global’s substantial Richborough Mast community benefits programme for local communities in the Richborough, Ash and Sandwich area, following submission of the planning application for the Richborough Mast.

Vigilant Global says it is fully committed to ensuring the Richborough Mast will meet the shared needs of a range of potential users and provide significant benefits to the local community.

Eric Bellerive, director of Global Networks at Vigilant Global, said: “Vigilant Global has a proven track record of engaging with local communities to ensure we can offer a wide range of benefits to the area as well as meet the communications needs of the financial sector.

“During our engagement with local community members we identified poor access to high speed broadband as a critical issue and we are proud to announce our exclusive partnership with VFast.

“We are looking forward to rolling out our benefits package at Sandwich Technology School in the coming weeks.”

Sean Doherty, strategy and business manager at VFast, said: “The ability to utilise the Richborough Mast for VFast equipment will enable us to deliver significantly improved connection speeds of up to 100 megabits per second for existing and future customers.”

In the coming weeks, Vigilant Global will continue to engage with local groups who could benefit from the Richborough Mast community benefits programme.

The firm is encouraging other groups in the Sandwich area to contact the team at: info@richboroughmast.co.uk.