Birmingham small businesses to get ultrafast broadband boost

• 2,000 business in 250 buildings located in the area will benefit

• Businesses to receive equal upload download speeds of 100Mbps
• Virgin Media is investing £3bn to connect four million premises over the next five years to ultrafast broadband. Businesses can register at cablemybusiness.co.uk

Virgin Media Business today announced that it will power over 2,000 businesses in Birmingham’s emerging tech hubs with ultrafast connectivity, giving a boost to the local economy and business in the area.

As one of the UK’s leading digital tech clusters, Birmingham has been identified by Virgin Media Business as an area that would benefit from ultrafast connectivity. The equal upload and download speeds will allow businesses to operate more effectively.  

Similar packages were launched last year in London’s Tech City and Manchester’s Northern Quarter.

Birmingham’s bustling Jewellery Quarter, Colmore Business District, Hagley Road and Broad Street are all set to receive equal upload download speeds of up to 100Mbps, at an affordable price.

Dedicated internet connections

Through a package that has been specifically designed to support the connectivity needs of businesses located in multi-tenanted buildings, 2,000 Birmingham businesses co-located in 250 buildings will have access to faster, cheaper and more reliable dedicated internet connections.

Once the ultrafast fibre is installed directly into the premises, each small business will get their own dedicated internet connection.  A 1Gb connection will be installed into a building and businesses within it can purchase a 50Mbps or 100Mbps product. This should meet the connectivity needs of many businesses but for those in need of more there are individual leased line options available with speeds up to 1Gb. 

Mike Smith, Director of SME, Virgin Media Business said: “Birmingham is fast becoming one of the UK’s leading digital tech clusters and as such needs reliable, secure, high speed internet access. Better connectivity can transform the way small businesses operate and the services they provide, allowing them to seize the chance to become digital leaders.”

Councillor Lisa Trickett, Cabinet Member for Sustainability for Birmingham City Council said: “Birmingham has the highest number of start-ups in the UK, second only to London. Our economy is underpinned by a vibrant SME community and access to digital technology and faster connectivity is essential in ensuring they continue to thrive.  We welcome Virgin Media Business’s new digital investment that will boost speeds for our small businesses, allowing them to take advantage of the digital opportunities tech provides.”

This digital investment also addresses local needs which were highlighted in the Greater Birmingham Digital Audit (February 2015) commissioned by Digital Birmingham whereby 92% of businesses in the region said that digital capability was important for future business growth.

In October Virgin Media Business launched a report, 'The UK's Digital Opportunity', which revealed digital technologies could boost the UK economy by 2.5% of GDP (or £92 billion), as well as creating over a million new jobs across all industries over the next two years.  

Over the coming years Virgin Media is investing £3 billion in its infrastructure to bring faster connectivity to nearly 17 million UK homes and businesses.

Businesses in the area can register at www.virginmediabusiness.co.uk/techcity

*£199 or £249 monthly fee for a 50Mb or 100Mb connection respectively