Liverpool bids for £25m for ultrafast broadband

LIVERPOOL is bidding for £25m to beef-up its super-fast broadband connectivity which would benefit nearly 5,000 businesses.

The city says that more than 100,000 people will get access to ultrafast broadband if the bid is successful.

The city council has applied for £9m from the Government’s Urban Broadband Fund (UBF). It would be matched by £11m from a range of other sources including the Regional Growth Fund (RGF), as well as bids for around £5m from other sources of cash.

The delivery of the bid – titled “It’s Super Connected, It’s Liverpool” – would form an integral part of the City Deal and Mayoral Investment Plan which has recently been negotiated with the Government
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Wireless internet access would be available for over 100,000 people, 4,800 businesses and up to 30 million annual visitors.

It is estimated the project could help generate an additional £56m for the local economy and create up to 1400 jobs.

Council Leader Joe Anderson said: “This is an ambitious bid which would put Liverpool at the forefront of the digital revolution.  If we are serious about competing with the biggest and best cities in the world, we simply have to invest in the right infrastructure to deliver what is needed.

“We are a growing city with plans to substantially increase the number of employers and visitors to our city through the Mayoral Development Zones and schemes such as Liverpool Waters.

“We live in a world now where broadband is a part of our everyday lives and people expect to be able get online wherever they are. Increasingly this is via smart phones or tablets, and we have to put the right technology in place to meet demand otherwise we will get left behind.”