Birmingham council tenders for £125 million city-wide broadband network

When you’re surfing the Internet, streaming media like movies, television shows, or music, or downloading some files, it can be quite a drag if your broadband connection suddenly slows down or you get disconnected. That said, there’s a reason why superfast broadband is what a lot of people are looking for these days.

Superfast broadband has been defined in the Broadband Delivery UK (BDUK) glossary of terms as “having a potential headline access speed of at least 20Mb, with no upper limit.” Various broadband networks have worked to help provide the UK with such connection speeds and to accomplish the other goals that have been set in the BDUK project.

As such, the government has allocated funds to various counties, cities, and areas in order to further their broadband networks by doing upgrades.

Faster broadband speeds in a county can help more than just provide users with a better Internet experience. In fact, it can also boost businesses, expand product reach, and affect tourism as well.

In line with this, the Birmingham City Council has just put out a tender for its project called the Digital Districts: Birmingham Next Generation Wireless Connectivity. The goal of Digital Districts is to upgrade the city’s current broadband services to ultra-fast, wireless connections. The entire project is estimated to cost around £100 to £125 million.

Deputy council leader and chairman of the Digital Birmingham partnership, Paul Tilsley, said: “The way people live their lives, and the way businesses operate has changed dramatically thanks to technology. This is placing a huge strain on existing wireless broadband networks, so we are keen to get ahead of the curve – it isn’t about the council becoming a mobile phone or network operator, it’s about teaming up with organisations that have the know-how, so we can bring 4G to Birmingham as soon as possible along with a commercial benefit for the city.” He adds: “Doing this underlines our commitment to making Birmingham a leading digital city, and offers us a potential source of income in the current tough economic times.”

The project is slated for a 6-year completion period. Some areas of Birmingham have been reported to have slow broadband connections.

Part of the tender reads:

Birmingham City Council wishes to take positive action towards improving digital connectivity across Birmingham, and wants to take a lead in finding innovative solutions to encourage its citizens to be able to benefit from the digital revolution.

This contract provides an opportunity to develop commercial models in partnership with Birmingham for wireless connectivity, working with BCC as a sole corporate landlord, facilitating commercial negotiations for access to, and use of, the City’s 230+ tower blocks, 95 000+ lamp posts and other City Council owned assets.

Source – Birmingham Post