Sunderland to receive over £60million investment for access to next-generation broadband

Sunderland is set to benefit from an investment of £62million from CityFibre as part of plans to help replace the UK’s legacy copper networks with gigabit-capable full fibre connectivity.

The state-of-the-art infrastructure will see nearly every home and business on Wearside have access to some of the country’s fastest broadband services.

Planning is already underway as CityFibre designs a network capable of serving Sunderland’s current and future demands and once completed, it will provide a platform for a new generation of “smart city” applications and the roll-out of 5G mobile services.

Set to commence from the middle of this year, once the network is live, services will be available from an increasing range of Internet Service Providers (ISPs) to deliver next generation broadband services.

Jason Legget, the city manager at CityFibre is leading the Sunderland project, he revealed that the company is working with the local authority to improve Wearside’s digital infrastructure.

Mr Legget said: “It’s exciting to look to the future and what our £62million Sunderland Full Fibre network build investment will bring.

“We are working in close partnership with Sunderland City Council to transform the area’s digital infrastructure, ensuring that the digital needs of those working and living in the region are met now, and in the future.”

Welcoming the announcement, Patrick Melia, Chief Executive at Sunderland City Council, said: “The last 12 months have seen real progress across our smart city, culminating in Sunderland being crowned Smart City of the Year 2020 in the Digital Leaders 100 List.

"Accolades such as this are getting Sunderland noticed as a serious player globally as a digital leader with opportunities for investment, whilst firmly positioning our fantastic city as a healthy, happy place to live, work and play.

“The announcement of this huge investment from our valued partners at CityFibre will continue our citywide digital transformation, advancing opportunities for our residents, businesses, educators and healthcare providers through a truly transformative full fibre network.”

The leader of Sunderland City Council, Councillor Graeme Miller, has said that the investment will present significiant opportunities to businesses based in Sunderland.

Cllr Miller commented: “We are a city on an exciting journey. The next chapter in our drive to continuously improve quality of life and business prospects will be underpinned by this incredible investment by CityFibre.

“Full fibre broadband will help households across Sunderland to access the internet at a rapid speed they haven’t experienced before, better enabling the integration of smart home technology to assist working from home, as well as a raft of business gains.

"This investment represents significant opportunities to drive efficiencies and innovation to help Sunderland-based businesses to gain a real competitive edge.

“Today we celebrate a major milestone in fulfilling our bold vision and ambitious plans for the city, with the implementation of a full fibre network to reach almost every home and business across Sunderland, empowering our local economy to grow for generations to come.”

Sunderland residents who are interested in receiving full fibre broadband can pre-register their interest with CityFibre by clicking here.

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