Leeds small businesses to get ultrafast broadband boost

• 1,500 business in 125 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 to ultrafast broadband. Businesses can register at cablemybusiness.co.uk

Virgin Media Business today announced that it will power nearly 1,500 businesses in Leeds’s City Centre with ultrafast connectivity, giving a boost to the local economy and business in the area.

With its notable Fintech sector and rich talent pool, Leeds is the fourth major city identified by Virgin Media Business as an area that would benefit from ultrafast connectivity. The equal upload and download speeds will allow local businesses to operate more effectively. 

Similar packages have been launched in London’s Tech City, Manchester’s Northern Quarter and Birmingham Jewellery Quarter.

Business located within multi-tenanted buildings within Leeds’s bustling Civic, Cultural and Financial Quarters are all set to receive equal upload download speeds of up to 100Mbps, at an affordable price. Several buildings close to Bradford city centre will also be able to benefit from these speeds.  

Dedicated internet connections

Through a package that has been specifically designed to support the connectivity needs of businesses based in multi-tenanted buildings, 1,500 Leeds and Bradford businesses co-located in 125 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: “Small businesses with big ambitions need reliable, secure, high speed internet access in order to thrive. Better connectivity will transform Leeds tech hubs and allow these businesses to seize the chance to become digital leaders.”

Cllr James Lewis, Deputy Leader of Leeds City Council said: “We welcome this programme of digital investment in Leeds and hope that this will offer small businesses the opportunity to boost their speeds and productivity. By encouraging providers like Virgin Media to invest in Leeds, we can help to establish a competitive market and provide a genuine choice for customers.”  

In October Virgin Media Business launched a report, 'The UK's £92 billion 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 the fastest broadband to nearly 17 million UK homes and businesses.

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

ENDS

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