Investment will be a huge boost to homes and businesses in Liverpool who have long complained that relatively poor digital connectivity was holding back the local economy. Tony McDonough reports
Openreach is to invest £250m in upgrading Liverpool’s internet network offering 100Mbps access and creating 60 apprenticeships.
Following negotiations between Openreach, the infrastructure arm of telecoms giant BT, and Liverpool Mayor Joe Anderson, it was agreed the city would be in the first tranche of UK locations to benefit from the rollout.
The investment will be a huge boost to homes and businesses in Liverpool who have long complained that relatively poor digital connectivity was holding back the local economy.
Last week it was announced that businesses in the Baltic Triangle are of Liverpool were to get access to the fast broadband in Merseyside. Now the rest of the city and eventually the city region will benefit from much faster speed.
Liverpool-based installation and maintenance specialist MJ Quinn will partner up with Openreach to undertake the work. The company has worked with Openreach across the UK and the project team will set up home in the city council’s Cunard Building HQ.
Openreach’s plans are to install “fibre to The premises”, meaning the traditional copper wires which connect homes and businesses to the internet will be replaced with high-speed fibre, significantly increasing the speed of internet connections.
Mayor Anderson said: “This is a significant infrastructure investment and the partnership between the council, Openreach and MJ Quinn will give our city a huge boost. I wanted to make sure our city was at the forefront of this programme and committed to working with the other partners to make this happen here.”
MJ Quinn chief executive Mike Quinn added: “We are a long-established Liverpool company with over 2,000 staff nationally and we will be working to roll out fibre networks across the country.
“But we are all really pleased to be able to make this programme happen in Liverpool. We take great pride in all our work, but especially when it’s for our own city.”