News: South Yorkshire Digital Region launched

Following the Government's 2009 budget statement to confirm approval for Digital Region, Digital Region Ltd has announced the roll-out of "super-fast broadband" across South Yorkshire.


This puts the South Yorkshire region at the forefront of the digital communications agenda and marking a significant change in communications technology for Barnsley, Doncaster, Rotherham and Sheffield.

The project has been developed in South Yorkshire by Yorkshire Forward, in partnership with the four Local Authorities of Barnsley, Rotherham and Doncaster and Sheffield City Council, who together have attracted European, regional, local and private investment of over £90m. The project, now managed by Digital Region Ltd., is expected to stimulate significant job creation in the region in the near future.

The state-of-the-art fibre-optic cable will provide a high-speed, open-access infrastructure, offering 25mb or above of guaranteed bandwidth and quality of service to the majority of homes and businesses in South Yorkshire, reaching 1.2 million people.


This new service will support existing companies by enabling them to develop products and services for the digital age and attract inward investment to the region from those companies leading the way in the new digital economy.



Minister for Yorkshire and Humber, Rosie Winterton, says: "I am absolutely delighted that the Digital Region investment for South Yorkshire has been agreed today. This £90m plus programme will provide super-fast broadband services to over one million people in this part of the region, benefiting families and businesses alike as early as next year.

"This will place South Yorkshire in the forefront of technological change, and will put the sub-region in a much stronger position to be able to benefit from the up-turn when it comes."

Digital Region Ltd has appointed an experienced team, led by Thales UK and including Alcatel-Lucent and KCOM and work on building the digital infrastructure will commence straight away, with the first service available before the end of the year. The first homes will be able to take up services during 2010. Connection to the network will be available through a range of service providers, national, regional and local.

Digital Region website
Rotherham

Image: Digital Region Ltd