Multi-million pound contract signed to transform broadband speeds
A £21.96m contract between four West Yorkshire local authorities and BT has been agreed to transform broadband speeds across the region.
The new project, ‘Superfast West Yorkshire’ plans to extend high-speed fibre broadband to 97% of households and businesses across the majority of West Yorkshire by the end of Autumn 2015.
As well as providing high speed fibre, the partnership aims to upgrade 100% of premises in this area to speeds of more than 2Mbps.
Superfast West Yorkshire builds on BT’s commercial investment of £2.5bn to roll fibre broadband out to two-thirds of UK premises by the end of spring 2014.
Leeds City Council, Bradford Metropolitan District Council, Wakefield Council and Calderdale Council will work with BT to bring fibre broadband to premises in West Yorkshire which are not currently included in commercial roll-out plans.
Fibre broadband will be of particular benefit to local businesses which can use the high speed technology to improve their competitiveness both nationally and internationally.
This investment in infrastructure will enable a level playing field for small businesses to compete with multinationals on new business opportunities and aims to create and protect local jobs by attracting inward investment.
BT was awarded the contract following a procurement exercise through the Broadband Delivery UK (BDUK) framework. BT is contributing £12.58m towards fibre deployment in “non-commercial” areas, with the four local authorities contributing £970,000. Alongside this partnership, the project has received £4.62m of funding from BDUK and the remaining £3.79m from the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) .
Coun Keith Wakefield, chairman of the Association of West Yorkshire Authorities (AWYA), said: “This is an important day for West Yorkshire as we take a vital step forward in the digital age. Fast and reliable internet is becoming crucial to daily life and for residents in West Yorkshire, it will provide an equal opportunity to access essential online activities such as council services, healthcare and other public services as well as offering new leisure and educational opportunities.
“I believe it will help us strengthen our economy by giving small businesses a means to develop their potential and achieve their ambitions as well as encouraging new start-ups and job creation.
“This pioneering project will be of real benefit to many residents and businesses in West Yorkshire and we are continuing to work hard to bring the whole of West Yorkshire up to speed.
“I encourage all businesses and residents in the region to take full advantage of this exciting opportunity and put West Yorkshire on the superfast map.”
Ed Vaizey, communications minister, added: “This £21.96m project will deliver an incredible transformation in broadband speeds for thousands of homes and businesses in West Yorkshire. It will be instrumental in driving growth, boosting the local economy and achieving the Government’s objective of reaching 95% of all UK premises by 2017.”
Bill Murphy, BT’s managing director for Next Generation Access, said he believes this project is vital to the future economic strength of all the local authority areas involved in this project.
“An enhanced digital infrastructure in West Yorkshire will help consolidate the area’s reputation for technology, innovation and enterprise and make this large part of the Leeds City Region a more attractive proposition for business re-locations and start-ups – including the creation of new, high-tech jobs,” he said.
BT’s network will be open to all communications providers on an equal wholesale basis.
Fibre-to-the-cabinet (FTTC) will be the main technology deployed which delivers wholesale downstream speeds of up to 80Mbps and upstream speeds of up to 20Mbps.
Superfast West Yorkshire will be announcing the installation schedule in the coming months.
