Tameside’s Digital Infrastructure Cooperative has formed an alliance with The Loop, Manchester’s largest independent fibre network. This will enable superfast internet speeds, more than three hundred times faster than standard broadband, to businesses and public sector organisations in the borough of Tameside in Greater Manchester including Tameside hospital, health clinics and Tameside college buildings as well large social housing schemes owned by the newly merged Jigsaw housing association (formerly New Charter).
Working with Tameside Council, The Loop will connect to 12 km of ducting along Metrolink tram lines out to Ashton where a further 50km is either complete or under construction.
Hundreds of local businesses could benefit from this collaboration between The Loop including the cluster of digital businesses at the Ashton Old Baths new innovation centre. For the first time, 10 Gig internet services, using a combination of fibre from The Loop’s network and the local authority’s own network, will be widely available through the Coop at affordable costs.
Ashley Griffiths, Managing Director of The Loop said: “We always have had fibre in Manchester, Salford and Trafford so it’s great to extend our reach in Greater Manchester and serve the borough of Tameside. It’s been fantastic to work with such a forward-thinking local authority who shares our vision. This is something that together we have been aspiring to achieve for years, so to reach this point is a major milestone for both Digital Tameside and ourselves. It also aligns perfectly with GMCA’s DCMS LFFN Award (Local Full Fibre Networks) that the Combined Authority won earlier this year to support the role out of fibre to the premises across Greater Manchester. It serves as a shining example of what can be achieved through a more joined up approach to existing digital assets.
“The fibre will not only enable Tameside businesses and major public sector buildings to access next generation internet services, but it will open up connections to our wider network including a significant number of data centres and major media hubs such as MediaCityUK and the new St John’s development. This will allow local firms to work more competitively and stay ahead of the game.”
Tim Rainey, Director of Digital Tameside said: “This is the type of technological change and investment that is making our businesses competitive in the 21st century economy. It demonstrates Tameside Council’s commitment to creating an environment that will attract more and more hi-tech companies into the borough.
“Almost half of our businesses and properties will be close to a connection working through the new state of the art data centre being built as part of the phase II redevelopment of the Victorian former swimming baths in Ashton-under-Lyne.
“Tameside will soon have unrivalled fibre coverage, and internet connectivity speeds that are among the fastest in the country. Through our innovate Digital Cooperative our companies and residents can look forward to a win-win situation where they will have greater choice and lower prices.”
The Loop has more than 170 km of dark fibre under the streets of Manchester and offers connectivity to all of Manchester’s leading datacentres and also links Manchester’s main commercial districts including Manchester city centre, the Northern Quarter, Manchester Science Park and MediaCityUK. It also connects to some key buildings including Manchester Central Library, The Sharp Project, and Space Studios.
For more information on The Loop visit theloopmanchester.co.uk or call 0333 004 4222. To find more about The Digital Cooperative in Tameside visit www.tdic.coop
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For more information contact Roz Hughes on 07967 800395 or email roz@rozhughes.com
Notes to editors
About The Loop
The Loop, powered by Gamma, is more than 170Km of fibre network in Greater Manchester, supplying direct connectivity to datacentres and ultrafast internet access to the private and public sector. The fibre optic cables are buried under the region’s roads and remained largely dormant for over a decade until The Loop was launched in October 2012. The original cabling was installed by Atlantic Telecom, largely to support the Manchester Commonwealth Games in 2002, but Atlantic subsequently went into administration. The Loop, which solely focusses on Greater Manchester, is based in Trafford Park. The network circles the city centre and stretches out to Eccles in the West, towards Oldham in the North, Stretford in the South and Gorton in the East.
To find out more about The Loop visit www.theloopmanchester.co.uk
About Gamma
Gamma is a rapidly-growing technology-based provider of communications services to the UK business market. Gamma’s services, such as Cloud PBX, Inbound Call Control Services and SIP Trunking, are designed to meet the increasingly complex voice, data and mobility requirements of businesses, through the exploitation of its know-how and its own intellectual property.
Gamma also provides business-grade mobile and data services and, as a consequence of its history, has a substantial voice service capability. These services enable Gamma to provide a comprehensive range of communications services.
Gamma has enjoyed strong organic revenue and EBITDA growth driven by a high percentage of repeat revenues. The business had 900 employees at 31 December 2017. It operates across six main locations – headquartered in Newbury – with offices in London, Manchester, Glasgow, Portsmouth and Budapest.
To find out more about Gamma visit www.Gamma.co.uk
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