Leeds to get 100Mbps broadband in 2010

Businesses in the Calls first to benefit

24 February 2010 14:29 GMT / By Duncan Geere

Leeds telecoms company Aql has announced that the city will be the first in the country to get super-fast broadband speeds of up to 100Mbps. Businesses in the Calls area, many of which are media and marketing agencies, will be the first to benefit from the high speed fibre project.

Aql currently runs several "exchange" sites around Britain, and has a fibre optic link between London and Leeds. That fibre will be extended into large offices, allowing the businesses within access to the data pipe. The network is then planned to roll out to other areas of Leeds city centre in 2010.

Adam Beaumont, Aql's managing director, told Pocket-lint: "This model allows many businesses to get a head start on their competitors, reaping the advantages of high-speed-working long before the delivery of the Digital Britain promise. Smart businesses already realise the advantages of not waiting for their mail to download or for a file to transfer".

The government has promised to deliver 2Mbps speeds to almost the entire country by 2012, and the Conservative party, if elected, has promised 100Mbps speeds for most people by 2017. Currently, Britain lags behind some European neighbours in the rollout of broadband, with Nordic countries in particular able to access much faster speeds.

Via: docs.google.com

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