Nottingham is a Gigabit City!

Like most of my generation, I've also travelled a bit. One noticeable 'element' that often surprised me whether visiting relatively small cities like Wellington, NZ or the much bigger conurbations in the US like Washington DC, is the sense of both identity and pride. So many cities or towns have a story to tell, and their not shy at letting you know all about it!

Nottingham has an amazing past, a rich social and industrial heritage. Robin (Hood of course), D H Lawrence, Byron, William Booth. Players, Boots ,Raleigh and the rest. The list goes on and on.

A story that certainly competes with any other out there.

But what about today and the future? Is Nottingham's story to continue in the same rich vein as the past? We have been looking a little tired around the edges in the last few years but change is now evident. There are cranes on the horizon, always a good sign, evidence of investment in commercial and transport infrastructure.

Tourist attractions such as Nottingham Castle are also receiving significant investment. All great news for our city's future.

From my perspective there is one hugely significant investment in the city that may not be as obvious as that signalled by the cranes and scaffold. Nottingham has been designated as a 'Gigabit City' and as such is on the receiving end of huge investment and transformation in internet access, fixed and mobile.

In the briefest of terms, the old copper infrastructure installed by BT many years ago is no longer suitable for today's requirements and is being replaced with new 'fibre' connectivity. It's a huge civil and network project that is costings millions of pounds.

It is long overdue. Compared to our European counterparts, internet access offered through a fibre service is woeful in the UK. Currently we have around 4% coverage in comparison to 80%-90% plus coverage in France and Portugal. It's a problem recognised by the Government who have now intervened to encourage and speed up investment and network development. Without this investment, the UK will simply not be able to compete in the future.

Mason Infotech offer services from a whole range of internet service providers who are looking to create a 'high speed' future for Nottingham. In particular, we are working with; Entanet (A CityFibre business) and the ITS Group. Both, quite literally, have millions to spend to provide Nottingham with the internet access it needs to thrive in the future.

Both Entanet and ITS already have networks in the ground in Nottingham and are looking to extend these as quickly as possible. They may already pass your place of work! It's an amazing time to be involved in the IT industry, and we feel privileged to be part of this amazing development in Nottingham.

For more detail on exactly what Gigabit City infrastructure can mean for a city please see the white paper from CityFibre here