Manchester to pilot Next Generation Broadband

Click here to watch a Lower Quality version of the full Launch Speeches [Good for slower internet connections]

Tuesday 24 March 2009 will see Corridor Manchester become the first area in the UK to pilot next generation broadband as it launches a £500,000 project funded by the Northwest Regional Development Agency. The project will open up a whole new range of opportunities for digital communications across business, social and healthcare sectors.

The project is the first phase in the realisation of a new digital infrastructure for the city, it will directly connect 500 businesses and 1000 homes in the Oxford Road area with fibre optic lines which will increase broadband speeds by up to 100 times than they are now.

Sir Richard Leese, leader, Manchester City Council said: “Even at this time of economic downturn Manchester has ambitious plans for its knowledge economy.  We are committed to delivering Digital Britain and next generation broadband, and this new advanced infrastructure will help create exciting innovative new applications for the Internet which will benefit our residents and businesses.”

Jackie Potter, chief executive, Corridor Manchester said: “One of the key aims for Corridor Manchester is to drive economic growth in the Oxford Road area of the city.  By providing high speed broadband we can not only help the universities, schools and hospital network enhance their services but also attract new businesses to the city.”

Coordinated by Manchester Digital Development Agency (MDDA) the OJEU notice will be published week commencing 30 March 09.  It is expected that the work to install the fibre will begin in the summer, with the first cluster of properties online by the end of the year.

David Carter, head, MDDA said: “For Manchester to keep its competitive edge on the national and global stage, we need an effective high speed broadband infrastructure.  We cannot wait for the market providers to do this for us – it’s a bit like public transport, private operators don’t build new train lines or tram tracks – we need to provide the core infrastructure on which they can build.  This will be an open access network available to all service providers.”

While the fibre is being installed, MDDA will set up working groups from across housing, business, healthcare and creative sectors to assess and develop uses for the technology.

One use could be Telehealth Care, building on the experience of a national pilot project currently running successfully in Hull.

Patients use a video link to talk to their healthcare providers and specialists, which allows them to stay at home instead of making daily journeys to the hospital or GP.  Patients also monitor their own blood pressure and weight daily and the results are sent via the their phone line.

The service allows accurate monitoring without the person needing to visit their GP and helps to avoid hospitalisation, while notifying staff if early medical intervention or assistance is needed.

In Corridor Manchester such services would be provided at a fraction of its current cost, as the high speed broadband would be used instead of a phone line.  It would also enable much more reliable remote monitoring of patients conditions and better quality live video links.

Once the first phase of fibre installation is completed, it is intended to expand project by rolling it out across Manchester, starting with east Manchester area.  Expansion plans also include the creation a new Internet infrastructure hub at the former Sharp factory site at Newton Heath in east Manchester.

The pilot project is part of the Manchester Living Labs, which is an open innovative test bed for new products and services.

Corridor Manchester is the first of its kind in the UK.  It brings together Manchester City Council, the University of Manchester, Manchester Metropolitan University and the Central Manchester University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust to build on the partners’ investments in the 243 H Oxford Road area of Manchester and to generate further economic growth and investment.

By 2020 the partnership aims to increase the number of high value jobs, improve public realm, retail offer and transport infrastructure; attract innovative and knowledge to the area by providing excellent facilities and space; engage local residents and develop the strong cultural offering.

For Further Information

Please contact Lisa Ashurst by phone on 0161 234 3729 or by email l.ashurst@manchester.gov.uk

What is Next Generation Broadband?

Next Generation Broadband provides a new high speed digital infrastructure through fibre optic cables (as opposed to traditional copper telephone lines) directly into buildings.  This is often described as fibre to the premises (FTTP).

Few people have access to broadband at speeds more than 4Mbs (Mega-bits per second) and the speed varies on how many people are using it, the more people, the slower it runs.  By investing in the high speed fibre optics the aim is to ensure that the standard speed will be 100 Mbs, no matter how many people are using it.

Why is it so important to have high speed broadband?

High speed broadband will open up the Internet to more innovative uses and applications. Across the world high speed broadband is becoming more and more important to business. There are 20 countries that have connected more than 1% of their population with fibre to the home and the UK is not yet in that “top 20”.  In order to improve competitiveness in the global market place, the UK needs to move quickly and ensure that high speed broadband is not only available but also accessible and affordable for all.

Leading global digital cities such as Amsterdam, Barcelona, Stockholm, San Francisco and Seoul intend to use their advanced infrastructure to ensure they are future proofed in terms of the massive changes that are going to happen in the way that people live their lives and the way institutions both public and private will operate in the coming decades.  Manchester wants to be able to compete with these locations on an equal basis and next generation broadband will be a key ingredient to help the city region to do so.

Manchester and “Digital Britain”

“A successful Britain must be a Digital Britain” is the commitment given at the beginning of the Government’s recent “Digital Britain” report.  It gives explicit support to the idea of local government and partnerships “working on a broader roll out of next generation networks as a central part of local regeneration and economic development strategies” and developing “useful models for development of broadband beyond the plans of major telcos.”

Manchester is going to build a globally competitive digital infrastructure, in line with the objectives of “Digital Britain” initially starting across key employment sites and regeneration areas.  The first is Corridor Manchester then it will extend across east Manchester to act as a catalyst for wider deployment across other key employment sites across the city region including Media City.

What is OJEU?

OJEU stands for the Official Journal of the European Union.  This is the publication in which all contracts from the public sector which are valued above a certain financial threshold according to EU legislation, must be published.  The legislation covers organisations and projects that receive public money. Organisations such as Local Authorities, NHS Trusts, Central Government Departments and Educational Establishments are all covered by the legislation.