Looking for an affordable way to keep in touch with family living overseas, Alex & Furqan launched a VOIP platform that allowed people to make international calls via the internet for free. Soon enough, people were signing up to the service, and Connexin was born. 

William Priest, MD of Orange Business Services at the time, was giving a presentation at a Tech Expo. Furqan approached him, they got to know each other and soon after "Priesty" became our first external investor. 

At the time, Connexin was working with a Wireless broadband provider to bundle their VOIP service with customers internet packages. In 2012, they went on to acquire the Wireless network. It was from then that they made the decision to stay and grow Connexin right here in Hull.

An opportunity to bid for a Public Wi-Fi tender in Hull inspired the team to think bigger than Wi-Fi. The idea of delivering a fully connected Smart City became a reality with Connexin winning the tender in 2016. Leading Hull City Council to become our first IoT and Smart City Partners. 

As the IoT side of the business kicked off, Connexin was introduced into Cisco's global infrastructure fund. Cisco's technology required internet, and Connexin were experts at providing it. After months of hard work, Connexin secured a £10M deal. 

After working closely with Cisco and Newcastle City Council, a first of it's kind project came around installing various sensors to bring city data into one platform allowing the council to make more informed decisions. The Newcastle Smart Street project won Connexin a global award and proved us as pioneers in the IoT space. 

Having never hosted an event before, Furqan was inspired by an expo in Vegas - he wanted to bring the same level of event to Hull. In October 2018, the first Connexin Live took place at Hull Bonus Arena. People from around the world travelled to Hull, just to hear about the amazing projects Connexin were executing in the UK.

With the intention of improving the way people work, live and play, Connexin launched CityOS. The UK's first Smart City Platform, connecting everything from parking to salt gritters and traffic management. Hull quickly became one of the Smartest Cities in the world. 

Series B was a huge achievement for Connexin, with the operational challenges of COVID looming, the team managed to secure £80M to support us in delivering the IoT, Consumer and Enterprise solutions.

Notoriously the only city in the UK without a choice in broadband provider, Hull was facing a monopoly. In October 2021, Connexin announced that they were building a new full-fibre network in the city to give residents choice. 

Early 2022 welcomed our first fibre customer, the launch of Connexin Cares as well as the acquisition of local ISPs Wisper Broadband and Pure Broadband. This, as well as the need for more hands on deck with an ever-growing company, has led to both the workforce and customer base dramatically increasing.