York to get dark fibre broadband network

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York is set for super fast broadband thanks to an investment by the city's council.

The City of York Council has signed a £13.7 million, eight-year contract with Pinacl Solutions and its partner H2O Networks to build and maintain a city wide dark fibre network. Once implemented, it's set to provide next-generation broadband to schools, libraries and offices in the area.

It will reach speeds of up to 10Gbps and will offer not just advanced telephony and video conferencing capabilities but CCTV and urban traffic management tools too.

Roy Grant, head of ICT at City of York Council, said in a statement: "The new dark fibre network removes old limitations of bandwidth availability and cost. Now, new advances can be considered.”

He added: "Not only will we be able to link council buildings and facilities - including our new headquarters - but the city-wide network will help us attract new businesses to York by offering low-cost connections to the network.”

Work has already started and should be completed by autumn this year.

Roy Shelton, managing director of H2O Networks, said in a statement: "Once the network is live, other users will be able to access City of York Council services provided by and through the network - an example could be visitors and tourists receiving wireless downloads of audio guides for the city's tourist attractions.”

He added: “The opportunities the new network will provide are limitless."

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