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Neos Networks brings broadband upgrades for public services across Oxfordshire
In a bid to improve connectivity and digital inclusion across the county , Neos Networks , one of the UK ’ s leading business connectivity providers , has been selected by Oxfordshire County Council to build full fibre gigabit capable broadband infrastructure to a range of public sector and local authority sites in the region . These sites include schools , libraries , county council buildings , GP surgeries , fire stations , leisure centres , community centres and museums . As part of a 20-year deal , Neos will work with Openreach , Virgin Media Business and locally based Gigaclear .
The project is funded with a £ 5 million investment from Oxfordshire County Council and circa £ 2 million investment from the government ’ s DCMS GigaHubs project , part of Project Gigabit . The GigaHubs project provides a footprint of rural full fibre that will incentivise broadband providers to connect surrounding homes and businesses to nextgeneration speeds .
Currently 98.4 % of Oxfordshire has access to superfast broadband , however , this initiative will significantly improve connectivity for over 200 buildings which provide a public service , many of which are located in rural locations where fibre connectivity is both difficult to facilitate and expensive to provision . Neos will manage the implementation with the first phase of the programme set to be delivered by March 2022 . This marks the first majority council-funded project aimed at improving the service offering available at community centres and village halls while also offering a more cost-effective connectivity solution for public sector sites .
Julia Lopez , Digital Infrastructure Minister , said : “ This huge government-funded deal for Oxfordshire will mean better public services that deliver more for communities and faster rollout of better broadband for surrounding homes and businesses . Upgrading schools , hospitals , libraries and other public buildings is just one way our £ 5 billion Project Gigabit scheme is levelling up the UK , with thousands of rural homes and businesses set to receive the fastest , most resilient connections available . This is not just about fantastic Internet speeds but about future-proofing homes and businesses for a world in which technology plays an increasingly important role , from healthcare and education to industrial application .”
The project builds on Oxfordshire ’ s wider commitment to improve connectivity across the county through its Digital Infrastructure Programme . It will enable Oxfordshire County Council to realise its ambitions for equipping community centres to become ‘ community working hubs ’ offering enhanced community services , health and social care support and reducing the need for people to travel further afield to access these services . This will in turn help the county council meet its objective for netzero carbon emissions by 2030 . Additionally , the new infrastructure will allow the council to migrate to lower cost fast broadband connections for its office buildings .
Neos was awarded the contract following a competitive procurement process , due to its ability to aggregate and manage multiple broadband suppliers to deliver the best and most cost-effective solution to Oxfordshire County Council . In doing so , Neos will leverage existing infrastructure as well as delivering entirely new full fibre connectivity to the sites in scope . In addition to driving the delivery of gigabit services for the council and its stakeholders , the new infrastructure will also encourage the build of FTTP services by AltNets in the region . p
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