That was the overwhelming view of more than 250 people attending the breakfast meeting on Friday 15 January 2010 organised by NW Insider in partnership with Corridor Manchester, New East Manchester, MDDA, Geo and NCC Group.

The meeting was organised to generate debate about how we can get Next Generation Access (NGA) digital infrastructure across Manchester on the most affordable and accessible basis possible. Read the original news story on this page.

We now need your help!

We need to know what your needs and aspirations are. What would be the benefits of fibre to you and your business or organisation?

Fill in the registration form

We have already had a great deal of interest by people registering their interest in getting connected to the new Manchester fibre network by filling in the registration form and now we need more input from you!

The project is starting with the Corridor, not just Oxford Road, but Hulme, Ardwick and Knott Mill too, and there are wider aspirations to spread this out across Greater Manchester, with a second phase of development using as much of the Metrolink as possible as a further starting point.

So, as well as people in the Corridor area, we also want to know what you want from anywhere in Greater Manchester. Please fill in the registration form and let us know your views.

Please also tell us about how you think this project would help you. Are there, for example, new and innovative ideas for services and / or businesses that you think could come out of this? Let us know by completing the Comments box on the registration form.

Even better please cascade this to any networks you are involved in and ask them to respond, as well as sending it out to friends, family and anyone else you think would be interested. If you want further information or clarification then just let us know.

Use the #iwantfibre hashtag on Twitter

If you are on Twitter (MDDA is on Twitter) you can also use the hashtag #iwantfibre followed by your full postcode, like this…

Please note that we’ll get more useful information from you via the registration form but every tweet helps. Thanks!

Jackie Potter, chief executive, Corridor Manchester said: “The installation of the new fibre optic cables will create a new infrastructure on the Corridor that will not only deliver much faster broadband speeds but through the open access network allow organisations, businesses and even individuals develop and test their own ideas for uses of the new technology without being held back by current limitations.”

The most immediate impact for people living and working on the Corridor will be much faster broadband capacity of 100 Megabits per second (Mbps) and more, critically, for both download and upload uses.  Users will be able to buy services from different service providers on the network providing internet access, TV, telephone and other data services too, as the new network will be genuinely “open access” allowing all service providers to lease the optical fibre from Geo to provide services to their customers.  There is also potential for services and applications to be made available for free without having to go through an internet service provider.

The Corridor network project is managed by MDDA and funded by the Northwest Regional Development Agency (NWDA).  Once the first phase of fibre installation is completed, it is already planned to expand the fibre optic network to east Manchester and elsewhere in the city by using both the existing and planned Metrolink lines.

Damien Bourke, policy & partnership manager for NWDA, said: “This is the first step on a journey to help make Manchester an increasingly competitive international city – a city in which businesses can find new and sustainable markets which in turn will help drive the regional economy. What better place to start this process than the Oxford Road area, where next generation fibre broadband will only generate further wealth from the people, ideas and innovation that make the Corridor a unique place to do business.”

Geo was awarded the contract in December 2009 following a successful tender to deliver the first phase of the fibre-to-the-premises (FTTP) network in partnership with Manchester City Council (through MDDA).  The initial phase will provide connectivity to 200 homes and businesses around the Corridor area of Manchester.

Geo is expected to start the first phase of network deployment in the spring.  Further connections directly to 1500 homes and businesses, will be phased over the next 12 months.

Chris Smedley, chief executive, Geo said: “Geo is delighted to be working with Corridor Manchester and the MDDA to deliver this important infrastructure. Creating a true open access network with next generation fibre broadband capable of fully symmetrical world – leading broadband services will radically change the way people use the internet for business and social use.  Geo’s unique business model is ideally suited to helping the UK to meet the challenge of building the new networks needed for the country to compete on the global stage and we are proud to be associated with this landmark initiative.

Update:

How to register your interest in getting connected

What’s involved – Initial Steps?

Being ideally placed on Portland Street we have a clear line of sight to Manchester’s town hall clock face from the roof of our building.  Placing several wireless transmitters and then connecting them up to our own internet connection, we were able to successfully transmit data to a receiver located in the Town Hall clock face tower.

We have made several trips up the town hall tower to check suitability for our equipment (power etc) and once this was finalised and configured the transmission began.

What’s involved – Connecting Albert Square?

We ran Ethernet cables down from the clock tower to a single room on the 6^th floor of the town hall and connected them to several wireless access points located in the office windows.  These routers are wirelessly transmitting the internet across Albert Square.

What does this mean for Manchester & what’s next?

There are many potential benefits that this could provide but during the installation process we were followed by Paul Carruthers from Manchester Business School who has published a document that may explain this better.

What it means for you…

For the duration of this trial anyone with a wi-fi equipped laptop or other device will be able to access free internet connectivity from Albert Square and nearby.  Because this is a trial, we’d love to hear how you’ve used it.

The latest webcam photos

Albert Square / Cross Street

Time Lapse

We have some timelapse videos made using photos from the webcams.

Manchester Camerata in Europe [with MDDA] from MDDA on Vimeo.

The performance took place both at the Cosmo Rodewald Concert Hall (at the University of Manchester) and Benedetto Marcello Music Conservatory in Venice. The audience was not only in these venues, but also at the 2009 World Forum on the Environment in Venice’s Palazzo Ducalo, and watching via the internet.

A unique collaboration by these two innovative music groups, the performance was facilitated by MDDA, who worked closely with the Camerata and Ex Novo to ensure that the 45 minute programme came together via the internet.

Beginning with a specially written “Green Piece” by Michele dall’Ongaro, the performance showed how musicians, composers and organisations can collaborate successfully without being face-to-face.

We were pleased to be featured on the BBC’s Digital Planet podcast, where you can hear details of the rehearsal for the performnce. Inevitably, there were some technical obstacles to be overcome, particularly with the slight delay in receiving sound and visuals at either end. But the musicians and in particular the conductor, Dane Lam, dealt with these as they would any musical issues, in readiness for the following day’s live performance.

An audience of ninety in Manchester were joined by an equal number watching and listening over the internet. The Camerata and Ex Novo collaborated on two pieces; the Dall’Ongaro premiere, and Charles Ive’s beautifully poignant “The Unanswered Question”, where the Venetian-based trumpet of Fabrizio Nasetti, asks questions of the string section, playing in Manchester. The programme also saw Oliver Knussen’s “Processionals” played live in Manchester, and broadcast to Venice, and a world premiere of Luca Mosca’s “Cinque Piccoli Scherzi” played in Venice and broadcast to the audience watching in Manchester.

MDDA were glad to be involved in such an innovative collaboration  providing an opportunity for cross-Europe collaboration using existing internet connections and readily available conferencing software. The event showcased how culture can benefit from this kind of digital hook-up, and how Manchester’s digital strategy, with its plans for developing fast broadband, can only lead to us facilitating bigger and better digital innovations in the city in the future.

The hectic rehearsals were covered by the BBC Digital Planet programme, listen to the podcast here.

To view photos from the event, visit the MDDA Flickr page.

The NextGen Euro conference was aimed at giving practical examples of best practice fibre networks from across Europe. The event gathered together some of the foremost examples of FTTH development presented by leading experts.

The Keynote videos above currently feature [1st July 2009]:

Welcome speech by Dave Carter [Head - Manchester Digital Development Agency]

Amsterdam fibre after two years: problems & fails, lessons learned, successes and how all things end well – Dirk van der Woude, City-Net Project, City of Amsterdam

Thomas Lecker – FTTH [Fibre To The Home] in Germany

Benoît Felten (video interview) – an overview of European fibre deployments

The future ain’t what it used to be: perspectives on investing in fibre – James Enck – Analyst, investor, blogger and journalist.

NextGen 09 Conference, welcome & opening speech by Sir Richard Leese [Leader, Manchester City Council]

THIS EVENT WAS CO-FINANCED BY THE DIGITAL CITIES [INTERREG] PROJECT

Visit the Digital Cities website

Visit the INTERREG website

This basically covers the Ardwick and Hulme wards and the southern part of the city centre, up to the canal and Portland Street.

More than 50 people crammed into the meeting room above the original Kro in Oxford Street to hear the Leader of the Council, Sir Richard Leese, Damien Bourke from the NWDA, Jackie Potter, CEO of The Corridor Manchester Partnership, and me talk about the project and what we hope to achieve.

There was a lively Q&A afterwards and plenty of networking. The next stage is to get everyone thinking about what we can do with (virtually) unlimited bandwidth.

You can read some more about this in the press release.