Residents and businesses across the London boroughs of Wandsworth, Richmond upon Thames and Merton are to benefit from access to fast fibre connectivity thanks to a partnership between leading neutral host provider Boldyn Networks, Greater London Authority (GLA) and Transport for London (TfL).
The projects are part of the Mayor of London’s broader Connected London programme to improve digital connectivity across London boroughs, bringing significant social and economic benefits to residents, businesses, and visitors.
The network will improve council services and boost digital inclusion across the three boroughs. Better connectivity will be enjoyed within the borough’s council housing, community centres and youth clubs, providing more learning and recreational opportunities. This includes improved access to online services, government resources, and educational materials to help reach digitally excluded residents and increase their access to the Internet.
Residents will also benefit from faster connectivity within public buildings, including local libraries and leisure centres, boosting internet accessibility for visitors to these local services. Three local charities across Richmond upon Thames are also set to be connected to the borough’s new digital infrastructure, helping them improve service delivery to the communities they serve.
As well as improved connectivity to 105 buildings, the new digital infrastructure will significantly improve public safety across the three boroughs, improving the image quality and reliability of 57 CCTV cameras and allowing the footage to be accepted as evidence in court. Boldyn Networks has also delivered a fibre backbone ring between Richmond and Wandsworth civic centres for public sector network services.
The work was grant-funded as part of the Government’s ‘Getting Building Fund’ to deliver new or improved digital services across London, which allows TfL to deliver connectivity upgrades on behalf of boroughs.
Theo Blackwell, chief digital officer for London, said: “The introduction of the new fibre network across Wandsworth, Richmond and Merton will improve public safety and connectivity and lay the foundations to positively transform local services in the future across the boroughs. Making sure that every borough in London has access to robust and reliable digital infrastructure is crucial to the Mayor’s commitment to making the capital a better, safer and more prosperous city for all.”
Billy D’Arcy, CEO of UK & Ireland at Boldyn Networks, said: “We’re proud to be supporting the drive for better connectivity across the capital. Reliable connectivity creates many benefits for residents and businesses. From upgrading connectivity, improving access to education resources, and boosting safety across the boroughs, high-speed digital infrastructure will help to transform communities across the city.”
Installing a high-speed fibre network across London’s boroughs will create a foundation for potential smart city and Internet of Things applications such as air quality and traffic congestion monitoring. This will allow for improvements to public safety and the use of new smart solutions to address challenges faced by Londoners.
This follows the installation of a high-speed fibre network in the boroughs of Sutton and Kingston upon Thames. These fibre networks complement Boldyn Network’s 20-year concession with TfL to deliver a backbone of fibre connectivity across the capital and high-speed mobile connectivity across the London Underground.
Photo by Sander Weeteling on Unsplash
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