In June, I wrote about Birmingham City Council’s plans to install ultrafast broadband in Digbeth, as well as other parts of the city. However, last week Virgin Media and BT began legal proceedings against the initiative, with the story being covered extensively.
From The Business Desk:
BT and Virgin Media have launched a legal challenge against Birmingham City Council’s plans to build a superfast broadband network.
[Birmingham City Council] wants to build a 100+Mbps (megabits per second) broadband network to serve specific local areas including Digbeth, Eastside and the city’s Jewellery Quarter where many digital businesses are based and which are being marketed as ICT hubs. But Virgin Media said the plan “involves a significant overbuild” with its existing network.
“It’s disappointing that Birmingham City Council has put forward a scheme which is not in the interests of local people and we believe, as a result, the European Commission has made a decision based on inaccurate and misleading information which could waste public money,” it said.
The story was also covered on AfterDawn.com and Think Broadband, who suggested that the European money secured for this project would be better spent in rural areas where differences in bandwidth are more obvious, and that installing ultrafast fibre-optic cables could create a monopoly in Digbeth.
However, Digbeth Residents Association is keen to know what residents think of the plans. Will ultrafast broadband be a blessing or curse for Digbeth businesses? Share your thoughts by commenting below, or joining the conversation on Twitter.
One does wonder if the council are the best people to be organising/selling ultra-fast broadband. It’s not beyond commercial providers. There is fibre in Birmingham, we’re not rural Shropshire. I’m not sure what market failure the council are reacting to. THe Custard Factory or Big Peg are quite capable of installing 100/MB lines if that’s what the idea is.
Look, I know quite a bit about this project.
Firstly, yes there is fibre in Birmingham…lots and lots, but not in Digbeth. The big boys who can afford it, share it amongst businesses in their developments, but for most…and I do mean most…you just can’t get affordable high speed broadband.
Virgin and BT aren’t investing in the area..period.
And as for The City Council running the project…they are only running a project to bring in commercial providers and not to run it themselves. Trust me, they’re doing a good job. (Oh and before somebody mentions Service Birmingham….it has nothing to do with them)
Hi Wendy i am doing my final year dissertation on this topic and was wondering if you could help me and direct me to the information you have on this project.
Wendy, thanks for that informaion. Do you or anyone else know WHY Virgin and BT aren’t investing in ultra-fast broadband in Digbeth? Whatever the reason, it’s frustrating that what is supposed to be the second city’s media/ tech/ creative quarter doesn’t have access to the highest broadband speeds at cost-effective prices.