£13m deal to extend coverage of superfast broadband in West Yorkshire
A £13m agreement between West Yorkshire Combined Authority (WYCA) and BT will make superfast fibre broadband available to tens of thousands more households and businesses in the second phase of a major digital infrastructure project.
The funding will come from the Government’s Superfast Extension Plan, which is to provide £6.89m, and BT will invest £6.1m while the day-to-day running of the project will be funded by the WYCA and local authority partners.
This second phase of the project will build on the successful work of Superfast West Yorkshire and BT’s own commercial roll-out of the high-speed technology, to extend coverage of fibre broadband throughout the current programme area as well as into York and Kirklees. A further 28,000 homes and businesses are expected to get access within the next three years.
Bill Murphy, BT’s managing director of next generation access, said: “Fibre is no longer a nice to have. It is a need to have. For businesses to compete effectively in this world of technology, you need to be able to move, act and do business quickly and effectively.”
Locations expected to be included in the second phase of the roll out include business parks, inner city and suburban areas and rural settlements currently not served by a fibre broadband network. Detailed plans will be announced in a few months’ time.
Cllr David Green, West Yorkshire Combined Authority member and Bradford Council Leader, said: “I am pleased that by having a clear vision of what we wanted to achieve and working closely with BT to achieve it, we have found ways to provide crucial high-speed internet access to places that otherwise would not be served.”
Roger Marsh, chairman of the Leeds City Region Enterprise Partnership and private sector member of the West Yorkshire Combined Authority, added: “Digital connectivity across our city region is of utmost importance to businesses looking to accelerate their growth into new and existing markets but is also essential to businesses running their day to day activities.”
