Manchester gets super-fast broadband
April 9, 2009 at 4:53 pm
Areas of Manchester are about to benefit from broadband speeds up to 1,000 times faster than they currently experience as part of the ‘Manchester Digital Strategy’. Manchester City Council has stated that the ‘Fibre-to-the-Premises’ plan, as it is being named, will completely alter the broadband experience for the people who are lucky enough to get access to it.
The new open broadband network should be going live at the end of March if all goes well, and will be available in the Oxford Road area to start with. The plan is to gradually roll it out to other places across the city, with the Central Park district eventually set to become an Internet hub.
The claim of ’1,000 times faster’ broadband was made by Neil Swannick, the executive member for the environment, who also said that consumers and businesses are set to benefit from “reliable” broadband after citing the “major threat” that other cities and countries will be to Manchester and the UK in the future if broadband speeds were not increased.
Fibre optic broadband is already available in numerous European cities, and the whole aim of this project is to try to ensure Manchester stays competitive in the new environment.
However, some have suggested that the ’1,000 times faster’ claim is just a little too optimistic. Although fibre optics certainly provide the way to quicker, better broadband connections, it may be a while before such speeds are enjoyed.
Still, it is a step in the right direction, and if it proves to be a success in Manchester then other cities across the country will be looking on eagerly, especially now that BT has announced the rollout of its fibre optic network.
