The newly elected mayor of North Tyneside, John Harrison, has today come out in full support of a high-speed broadband service for North Tyneside, in the North of England, which should be free to many in the region. For the first time in UK local politics it looks as though the introduction and investment into a fibre-optic infrastructure in the region could be pushed to the top of the “projects to-do pile” to the benefit of all in the region.
Even though the region itself is by no means starved of broadband servers and broadband services, the introduction of a local fibre-optic broadband infrastructure could literally take the area to a new level. Education would seemingly be the main proviso on the new service with expectations that school children in the region will have superfast access to online information and services. While this is not the first time such a scheme has been suggested for the region, it would appear that the push from the newly re-elected mayor could see impressive changes in due course.
The ongoing delays regarding a British Telecom nationwide fibre-optic network would appear to be offering potential opportunities for local authorities to step into the breach. While these networks are not cheap many experts believe that the payback period on the investment will be very short lived. Not only will there be a substantial increase in educational facilities but businesses in the region would also benefit and help the local economy grow.