\u00a332m tender request will enable ultrafast full-fibre connectivity to more than 1,300 public sector sites in Greater\u00a0 Manchester<\/p>\n
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Greater Manchester\u2019s local authorities have come together to invite tenders for a \u00a332m full-fibre\u00a0broadband network\u00a0project that will connect 1,300 public sector sites to a newly-built 450km network, with access guaranteed for 20 years to come.<\/p>\n
The project is being backed by eight of the 10 local authorities that make up the\u00a0Greater Manchester Combined Authority\u00a0(GMCA) \u2013 Bolton, Bury, Oldham, Rochdale, Salford, Stockport, Trafford and Wigan \u2013 alongside Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service, and\u00a0Transport for Greater Manchester.<\/p>\n
Separate to the tender, the remaining two authorities, Manchester itself and Tameside, are already actively investing in full-fibre broadband backed by \u00a323.8m\u00a0secured from the government\u2019s Local Full Fibre Network (LFFN) scheme in 2018.<\/p>\n
Greater Manchester mayor, Andy Burnham, said: \u201cConnecting Greater Manchester\u2019s public sector sites in this way will supercharge our digital capacity and trigger major private investment. As well as revolutionising our online public services, it will provide a huge boost to Greater Manchester\u2019s economy and productivity, cementing our position as one of the leading digital city-regions in Europe.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe full-fibre high-speed data network will have a transformational impact on digital infrastructure in Greater Manchester,\u201d said Andrew Western, GMCA digital city region lead.\u00a0\u201cIt opens opportunities to better connect public services, for future internet of things and 5G uses, and will enable more dynamic management of the transport network, including faster response times to manage real-time incidents and traffic flow.\u201d<\/p>\n
GMCA’s\u00a0plans predict an increase of full-fibre coverage within Greater Manchester from 3% today to 25% by 2022, which could pump more than \u00a32bn into the city\u2019s economy between now and 2034. It hopes that by pushing a wholesale full-fibre implementation out to the\u00a0public sector, it will trigger about \u00a3200m of further private sector investment \u2013 in addition to the full-fibre builds that are already active in the city\u00a0through CityFibre\u00a0and \u00a0Openreach\u00a0\u2013 to deliver ultrafast connections to more business and residential premises.<\/p>\n
Western added: \u201cWe are also committed to encouraging wider full-fibre investment across the city-region by minimising construction costs for all providers through our GM Prospectus, which will create standardised wayleaves and harmonise regulations between our local authorities.\u201d<\/p>\n
Potential suppliers are being invited to register their interest by 13 May, and those shortlisted will then be asked to submit an initial tender, with contracts set to be awarded in September 2019.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
\u00a332m tender request will enable ultrafast full-fibre connectivity to more than 1,300 public sector sites in Greater\u00a0 Manchester Greater Manchester\u2019s local authorities have come together to invite tenders for a \u00a332m full-fibre\u00a0broadband network\u00a0project that will connect 1,300 public sector sites to a newly-built 450km network, with access guaranteed for 20 years to come. The project […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":4363,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[19,25,31],"tags":[123],"class_list":["post-1520","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-innovation","category-services","category-tech-sparx","tag-manchester"],"yoast_head":"\n