Metronet (UK), continues its UK network expansion by connecting the city of Newcastle upon Tyne.
Working with the Go Digital Newcastle Project, Metronet (UK) provides quick and easy access to superfast broadband for the region’s small and medium sized businesses.
Newcastle upon Tyne is widely regarded as the major cultural and economic centre of the North East. To help boost growth across the UK, city councils are looking at new ways to stimulate their local economies. One of the initiatives to help drive this is the UK Government’s investment in broadband infrastructure within key cities (SuperConnected Cities Programme) and Newcastle City Council is one of the beneficiaries of this funding.
World class connectivity is one of the top priorities for the UK Government, which is why it is investing to ensure access to broadband is expanded. In doing so it is intended to sustain the international competitive advantage such connectivity brings to the UK economy. NESTA estimates that the provision of universal superfast broadband in the UK could directly create 600,000 new jobs, with £18 billion added to GDP. OECD figures state the Internet economy in the UK accounted for 8.5% of GDP in 2010 and is set to rise to 12.4% by 2016 – the highest figures for any of the G20 economies.
The Go Digital Newcastle Project provides connection vouchers worth up to £3,000 for SMEs, charities and social enterprises in Newcastle, Gateshead, North Tyneside and South Tyneside to get connected to superfast broadband. Metronet (UK) has been working with Newcastle City Council since October 2014, and the ISP is among those bringing the latest radio technology to the city. Customers have already started adopting the service which allows broadband connections, with speeds of between 1Mbps to 10Gbps, to be instantly available.
Metronet (UK) is looking for commercial properties in the area that can be transformed into a Metronet Enabled Building (MEB), so business tenants can take advantage of what is on offer. A radio dish is installed at the site, which provides high quality broadband services and means the cost and disruption of cabling the building can be totally avoided. All the tenants within a MEB can then choose to simply switch on their chosen Internet connectivity service at will.
Councillor Michael Johnson, Deputy Cabinet Member for Skills, Business and Enterprise at Newcastle City Council said: “Go Digital Newcastle is helping a wide range of businesses to get access to superfast broadband via suppliers such as Metronet (UK), and it’s creating a real economic boost to the city and the people who live and work here.”
Lee Lawrence, Operations Director at Metronet (UK) said: “We believe it is the right of every business in the UK to have cost effective access to superfast broadband. We are delighted to work with the Go Digital Newcastle Project, so that local businesses can get the Internet access they deserve. We look forward to expanding the service throughout the region, giving customers flexibility and value for money, while helping the local economy to flourish.”
