Bridging the divide with internet cabling

Wales has now seen the official launch of a project that will run across North to improve the current high speed broadband internet connections.

Fibre optic broadband cabling will be laid to cover the 200 miles from Holyhead on Anglesey to Manchester thanks to this new scheme. Both industrial estates and business parks will be connected by the fibrespeed initiative costing £30 million between Wrexham and Caernarfon into the main broadband link in the UK directly.

Wales’ internet infrastructure would be “substantially enhanced” said Ieuan Wyn Jones, the Deputy First Minister.

Mr Jones said “This exciting advance helps arm Welsh businesses with a powerful competitive advantage in resisting the global financial crisis and preparing for the economic upturn that will follow. It will also in due course encourage development of a comprehensive network to serve a growing number of communities.”

The plans of this project will be the first phase of long term assembly government plans to give the whole of Wales a readily available high-speed data service. This public-private scheme, which is being funded by both European grants and the assembly government, is being hailed as the first of its kind in the UK. Compared the south-east England and London businesses in Wales that rely on large quantities of data being moved around the internet have to pay as much as six times more for their services, According to Fibrespeed.

Chris Smedley the Chief Executive for FireSpeed added “Access to high speed communications has been highlighted as a critical part of success in the modern world, spanning every aspect of life from children’s performance at school to businesses’ ability to compete in the global economy.”

The main customers that will be using the service are initially thought to be business users at 14 sites throughout the North of Wales. The hope is, however, that an interest will be taken by other broadband internet providers to extend the network across the whole of the region, which will make it possible for communities in the more rural areas to take advantage of this super-fast broadband connection in the future.