Network architecture
High-level and low-level design for ISP, enterprise and wholesale environments, including IP core, edge, transport, resilience, capacity, security and migration strategy.
Independent network architecture, fibre and ISP consultancy
Practical technical leadership for networks that need to work properly.
Lockhart Network Consultancy Ltd helps ISPs, alt-nets, infrastructure investors and enterprise organisations design, review and deliver resilient connectivity platforms. From fibre access and IP/MPLS design through to OSS/BSS integration and due diligence, the focus is always on practical outcomes and clean execution.
Architecture that is deliverable
Practical network designs with clear migration paths and operational considerations.
Vendor-neutral advice
Independent guidance shaped around your commercial and technical constraints.
Hands-on experience
Support that bridges strategic direction with on-the-ground delivery reality.
Board-ready clarity
Technical information translated into useful options, risks and decisions.
Strategy and hands-on engineering
Simon remains an active hands‑on engineer alongside consultancy work. His background includes fibre access deployment, IP/MPLS core architecture, operational troubleshooting and integration of the OSS/BSS platforms used to run real networks.
Alongside consultancy, Simon is serving his second period on the board of LINX (the London Internet Exchange), and co-founded and still runs Bogons, an independent UK ISP delivering community full-fibre, business leased lines, hosting and colocation.
Most engagements involve helping operators evolve and scale networks they already run: assessing the current architecture, finding the operational and technical constraints, and building a practical plan for growth, resilience and service improvement.
That mix of board-level governance and running a live network day to day means designs are shaped by how networks are actually built and operated, so projects move from concept to live service with fewer surprises. Client work is treated in confidence, and any potential conflict of interest is raised at the outset.
Career highlights
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2023–now
2004–10 Non-executive director, LINX. Second period on the Board; member of the Governance and Remuneration subcommittees. - 2000–now Co-founder, Bogons. Independent UK ISP; designed and built award-winning rural FTTP networks in Scotland.
- 2024–25 Principal Network Architect, FullFibre. Layer 2 backhaul to MPLS transition, integration of an acquired network, and launch of retail ISP services.
- 2010–20 Technical Director, Glide. Designed and built a national network from scratch to multi-hundred Gbps, plus OSS and Openreach API integrations.
- 2005–09 Technical Director, Inuk Networks. Designed, built and launched a triple-play IPTV platform.
- 1995–2005 BBC Internet Services. Established the BBC's web and streaming internet infrastructure.
Field qualifications
Core services
Consultancy support can be delivered as a discrete package of work or as embedded technical leadership alongside your internal team and delivery partners.
Fibre and access networks
Support across FTTx design, build governance, GIS planning, civils coordination, duct and pole strategy, and practical access network decision-making.
OSS/BSS integration
Advisory support for provisioning, inventory, automation, service assurance, API integrations and the operational processes needed to run networks effectively.
Technical due diligence
Independent reviews for investors, operators and boards, covering network readiness, documentation quality, supplier risk, technical debt and remediation priorities.
Supplier and solution selection
Requirements shaping, tender support, statement-of-work review, acceptance criteria and practical challenge to reduce commercial and delivery risk.
Operational readiness
Ensuring designs are supportable in service, with monitoring, escalation, documentation, change control, spares strategy and handover aligned to operations.
How projects are approached
A straightforward structure that keeps work focused and outcomes clear.
- Discovery: understand the business goal, current constraints, stakeholders and success criteria.
- Assessment: review current-state architecture, risk, delivery dependencies and technical debt.
- Design: define the target state, delivery stages, supporting documentation and acceptance criteria.
- Support: assist with implementation workshops, supplier engagement and operational handover.
Typical deliverables
Concrete documents and outputs your team can use and build from.
- High-level and low-level designs (HLD/LLD) with migration plans
- Options papers with costed trade-offs and a clear recommendation
- Technical due diligence reports with risk ratings and remediation priorities
- Tender requirements, supplier evaluation matrices and acceptance criteria
- Operational handover packs: runbooks, escalation paths and support model
Recent engagements
A selection of current and recent work. Clients are anonymised.
Acquisition due diligence and network integration
Technical advisor to a UK fibre operator across a series of acquisitions. Leads active-network due diligence on each target (core, aggregation, access electronics and PoP infrastructure), with wider input across the review, then shapes integration planning to bring acquired networks onto the acquirer's platform.
Active network built from scratch for a regional fibre provider
A regional fibre provider with strong in-house passive and build skills, but no IP engineering team. Designed and built their active network from the ground up (MPLS core, access and edge, IP transit) and continue to run it, providing T2/T3 technical support and pre-sales technical input for on-net business customers.
BNG deployment and migration for ISPs
Supported several ISPs with subscriber termination changes, from implementing netElastic virtual BNG into existing networks to migrating subscribers off legacy platforms onto Juniper MX, covering design, integration and cut-over.
Interim network leadership for a regional alt-net
Interim technical leadership through a change in the network team, keeping the network running while helping it mature and bringing previously outsourced functions in-house. Implemented network monitoring, built a secure management network linking previously separate network segments, and mentored the in-house engineering team. Hands-on where needed, up to and including on-site recovery work.
PIA systems and GIS tooling for a regional alt-net
Advised on GIS tooling for build planning, and fast-tracked onboarding and integration testing for Openreach's PIA (Physical Infrastructure Access) APIs, so duct and pole access could be planned and ordered from the operator's own systems.
Start a conversation
Send a short note covering what you're working on, where things stand now and what a good outcome looks like. Architecture, due diligence, design review or delivery support are all good starting points.
simon@lnconsult.co.uk
or call 07734 463310 · LinkedIn
Replies within one business day.