Leeds-based telecoms entrepreneur Chris Morissey believes a new full fibre initiative will make the Yorkshire city one of the leading digital hubs in the UK.
The founder and MD of Lily Comms welcomed the launch of the Leeds Full Fibre Programme, which is set to make Leeds the largest gigabit and ‘5G capable’ city outside of London.
Council and health service buildings across the city are set to be upgraded to full fibre connectivity thanks to a £20.3m partnership launched between Leeds City Council and BT.
“It’s great news that Leeds is being an early adopter of full fibre. The opportunities are huge as this will encourage more businesses to follow suit and adopt full fibre, benefitting from super-fast speeds and the latest innovation in data,” said Morissey.
The new network will be built by BT Enterprise’s business infrastructure partner, Openreach which says it’s committed to bringing full fibre technology within reach of four million homes and businesses by the end of March next year.
The new full fibre network will aim to reach every school in the district, giving each of the 285 sites access to the best possible connectivity. The technology powering the network will also be installed at 293 council-owned buildings and 156 NHS buildings, as well
The programme will also allow the council and its partners to explore 5G products and services which can be rolled out across the city to take advantage of the improved connectivity. An example of this is the council’s plans to use full fibre to support Safer Leeds initiatives.
Morissey added: “It’s key to make businesses aware of this programme and it’s also good to know there are plenty of great providers out there offering full fibre network connectivity as BT isn’t the only option.”