CityFibre to build fibre network for West Yorkshire firms

Ethernet plug with fiber optic wire

Local businesses in Kirklees, West Yorkshire, could soon benefit from gigabit speed internet connections under new proposals from CityFibre.

The company, which specialises in building ultrafast fibre networks, wants to provide the Kirklees' business community with a dedicated, high-speed internet connection.

However, before it embarks on the deployment, CityFibre is keen to ascertain interest from companies in Huddersfield, Dewsbury and Batley about their appetite for access to a gigabit fibre network.

This information will be used by the firm to plot the size and route of the network, so CityFibre is urging local companies to register their interest in the project online as soon as possible.

The network's construction is due to start by the end of the year, with the aim that the first round of businesses will be connected to it by March 2015.

Greg Mesch, CEO of CityFibre, said the project will enable local companies in Kirklees to ditch slow dial-up connections once and for all.

"Building a gigabit fibre network in Kirklees represents a step-change as significant as the shift from dial-up to broadband," he said.

"No longer reliant on the antiquated copper networks, Kirklees businesses will have the capacity to position themselves at the heart of the UK economy as the technological revolution continues to gather pace. It's crucial that as many businesses as possible can benefit and to ensure that, we urge you to register your interest."

Martin Hathaway, chief executive of the Mid Yorkshire Chamber of Commerce, added: "We will certainly be encouraging our members to sign-up for this clearly performance-enhancing network and look forward to seeing local businesses flourish with the introduction of the new technology."

Caroline Donnelly is the news and analysis editor of IT Pro and its sister site Cloud Pro, and covers general news, as well as the storage, security, public sector, cloud and Microsoft beats. Caroline has been a member of the IT Pro/Cloud Pro team since March 2012, and has previously worked as a reporter at several B2B publications, including UK channel magazine CRN, and as features writer for local weekly newspaper, The Slough and Windsor Observer. She studied Medical Biochemistry at the University of Leicester and completed a Postgraduate Diploma in Magazine Journalism at PMA Training in 2006.