Faster broadband comes to South Yorkshire
SOUTH Yorkshire’s business community has been given access to faster broadband services thanks to two new contracts.
Digital Region (DRL) and Thales UK have agreed the first two contracs with regional Internet Service Providers (ISPs) in the county.
Business telephony and video conferencing services are now available on DRL’s next-generation network, delivered by RiPWiRE and Digital Region Broadband South Yorkshire (DRBSY), two ISPs, based in Rotherham and Sheffield respectively.
The Digital Region network, built and managed by Thales UK, is designed to support a potential revolution in the delivery of wholesale broadband services to South Yorkshire, delivering consumer and businesses related services across the region together with enhancing social care, health and education services.
Thales UK will build, manage and operate the fibre-optic cable infrastructure on behalf of Digital Region.
David Holt, chief executive of Digital Region, said: “This is great news, and a significant step forward for the region’s digital presence.
“We’re extremely pleased that our first partner organisations are local to South Yorkshire, and that they feel Digital Region can give them such a strong portfolio of services for both businesses and consumers.
“There has been tremendous interest in providing services over the network from South Yorkshire’s private sector. Businesses like DRBSY are setting up from scratch specifically to capitalise on the opportunities the network offers.
“Despite being less than five months from when the core fibre optic ring went operational, the project is already creating jobs and opportunities for the region.”
The Digital Region project will bring continuous 25mb+ broadband to more than 97% of the region, including 550,000 homes and 1.3m people.
The project is financed by European, regional, local and private investment of more than £90m, including £30m from the European Regional Development Fund.
