Birmingham approves full fibre broadband proposal

Digital businesses in Birmingham will have improved network coverage after the council approved a proposal to accelerate full fibre coverage. 

The full-fibre digital network is aimed at connecting underserved areas of the city and ensuring that local businesses have the networks needed for growth and innovation.

Cllr Jayne Francis, Cabinet Member for Digital, Culture, Heritage and Tourism, said: ‘We saw during the pandemic how businesses innovated and developed new digital services to deliver their products and services. 

‘Providing them with access to full fibre connectivity will enable them to continue to innovative and increase their sustainable economic growth opportunities through increased business productivity.’ 

It is also hoped that an improved network will allow the areas tech businesses to flourish with the council pointing to the West Midlands’ 18,394 start-ups and its position as the fastest growing tech sector in the UK. 

Work also falls under the council’s Digital City Roadmap which outlines ambitions to set Birmingham as a leading city attracting investment into digital businesses and innovations under the Digital Birmingham Brand. 

‘We welcome the current digital investments being made by the commercial sector, but we recognise that we need more pace and urgency to ensure our businesses have access to the best possible infrastructure, enabling them to innovate and retain their competitive advantage.’ Cllr Francis added. 

Other work looking at expanding the city’s network has included the councils work with telecoms partners on Open Access agreements that have allowed providers to utilise lampposts in the area to host technology allowing for greater coverage called ‘small cells’. 

The need to connect hard to reach places is currently the focus of a government plan to bring better broadband to many areas of the country known as Project Gigabit. Work on the project includes infrastructure projects in Cumbria and recently signed contracts in Cornwall that will see a local supplier carry out the necessary work to connect almost 20,000 homes to lightning-fast broadband.

Photo by Compare Fibre