Northumberland County Council has signed off on a multi-million pound deal to transform the county's aging digital infrastructure.
It is hoped the two-decade contract with Commsworld - one of the UK's largest independent network providers - will also bring significant private investment into the county, with the council putting this at £114m.
As part of the deal, more than 250km of new fibre infrastructure will be installed, bringing faster connections to 150 council sites including schools.
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This will also enable more than 120,000 homes and businesses across the county to access gigabit-capable fibre networks, which are far faster than traditional internet connection. The idea is that Commsworld's network will act as a "spine" from which other providers can branch out into towns and rural parts of the county.
The council say it represents a "step change" in its approach to digital infrastructure. Council leader Glen Sanderson said: "This long-term approach marks a new and historic way forward for the council and its positive impact cannot be underestimated.
"We are one of the first rural counties in England to focus on changing the lives of our communities by not only providing the infrastructure to give them ground-breaking access to full-fibre broadband, but future-proofing the system so it can adapt and grow according to the needs of everyone who lives and works in Northumberland.
“Above all, it will directly tackle digital exclusion, especially for those in our rural areas. Equality of access is vital if we want to improve the lives of all our citizens.
"Providing access to significantly enhanced internet connections will go a very long way to bridging this digital divide and benefit all our schoolchildren, parents and families, as well as our businesses and organisations.”
Bruce Strang, chief operating officer of Commsworld, said: “Commsworld welcomes securing this contract to replace Northumberland’s WAN network. This is our first major contract of this kind in England, having similarly delivered massively enhanced infrastructure to local authorities in Scotland.
“We are looking forward to bringing the full, transformative benefits of our Optical Core Network to Northumberland. Through the network and working with our partners – including forward-thinking local fibre providers such as Alncom – we can provide a step change in connectivity and resiliency right across the county, bringing huge benefits to all those who live, learn and work there.
"I have no doubt that the digital infrastructure we provide will benefit the whole of Northumberland.”
The council's iNorthumberland project has already brought so-called "superfast" speeds to around 95% of the county. The council is now working towards the delivery of ultrafast fibre, bringing the 1 gbps speeds to more people across the county.
According to the council's figures, 27% of properties are already able to benefit. The team is also working with central Government who are funding Project Gigabit which aims to deliver widescale installation of Gigabit capable fibre broadband across the county.
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