Member Article

Ultrafast connectivity is crucial for Northern Powerhouse success

CONNECTIVITY TO NATIONAL AND INTERNATIONAL MARKETS HAS NEVER BEEN MORE IMPORTANT

Leeds city region organisations using the internet to provide goods and services to customers at home and abroad now have access to one of the world’s fastest pure fibre networks and the opportunity to grasp the competitive advantage offered by its resilient and scalable connection speeds.

Leeds has been transformed into one of the UK’s first Gigabit Cities following major investment by infrastructure provider CityFibre. At an event to mark the launch of CityFibre partner Diva Telecom’s services in Leeds, local businesses were urged to take advantage of the world-class infrastructure to help boost economic growth in the Northern Powerhouse and make it a digital world leader.

Diva Telecom managing director Erica Lewis said: “Connectivity has been at the heart of the Northern Powerhouse debate with many calling for investment in the transport infrastructure between the North of England’s major cities to boost trading opportunities with the rest of the UK and the world.

“For those businesses that do their trading online, the CityFibre network is the virtual equivalent of HS3 or even Manchester Airport’s newly-launched first direct flights to China from outside London. World-class online connectivity is available here now, and all organisations can take advantage of its affordable ultrafast speeds to boost their productivity and get ahead of the competition in the lead-up to Brexit.”

At the event at The Tetley, CityFibre commercial director Rob Hamlin described the Gigabit City connection as “truly next generation internet connectivity” stating the pure fibre network will open up opportunities for new jobs, greater efficiencies and ultimately economic growth in the city. CityFibre has invested in almost 120km of network across the Leeds area.

Leeds City Council Deputy Leader Cllr James Lewis described the network as a “game changer” for the city region’s booming digital and technology sector.

“Our Gigabit City status has an important role to play in supporting and attracting digital businesses to the region. This ultrafast network means start-ups and smaller technology businesses will be able to compete with much more established players around the UK and beyond. The council is excited about this best in class infrastructure which puts us at the top of the league in terms of digital connectivity and the prospect this has for ranking the Leeds city region as one of the world’s best places to do business for technology companies,” he said.

Leeds’ thriving digital technology sector is set to contribute significant growth to the region’s economy with 30% predicted growth to £2 billion by 2021.

Alongside the thriving digital technology sector, the well-established legal and financial sectors and newly emerging fintech sector will benefit from the extensive pure fibre network too. Its ultra-fast speeds enable businesses to make the most of new ways of working, improving their experience and driving the bottom line by using cloud services for storage, telephony and virtual conferencing to name but a few.

ENDS

Notes for Editors

Established in 2006, Leeds-based Diva Telecom provides bespoke telecoms solutions to a growing client base including blue chip and small to medium sized businesses such as fashion mail order brand Pure Collection, the UK’s largest health charity Nuffield Health, and Enact, a leading provider of conveyancing services. The company currently employs 11 people.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Helen Kitchen .