KCOM Boast £187m Boost to the Economy in Hull and East Yorkshire

The incumbent telecoms and broadband operator for Hull and parts of East Yorkshire in England, KCOM, has hailed a new report that claims they have a “substantial impact” upon the local area by generating 1,600 Full-Time Equivalent jobs and delivering a £187m economic boost.

The figures arguably help to highlight why Ofcom has found it so difficult to weaken KCOM’s dominance of the local broadband and phone market in the same way as it’s done with BT (Openreach) across the UK, since to do so might jeopardise the local economy; particularly with 944 (871 FTE jobs) of their staff also living in Hull or East Yorkshire.

The study, which comes from research and consulting firm Cushman & Wakefield, notes how KCOM spends £14.3m with suppliers to support its activities in Hull and East Yorkshire, well over 50% of which is with companies based in the region (this supports a further 170 FTE jobs).

Research Highlights:
• KCOM’s work-based employment impact equates to 1.3% of overall employment in Hull, equivalent to the city’s legal and accounting sector.
• More than 9 out of 10 people either directly employed or supported in KCOM’s local supply chain are Hull or East Yorkshire residents, meaning most of their income is spent locally.
• 80% of KCOM employees in Hull are in full-time posts – significantly higher than the local average across all sectors of 66%.
• The total contribution of £187m that KCOM generates for the local economy includes around £90m of local annual Gross Added Value (GVA) contribution, which represents around 2% of the local GVA for Hull.

Furthermore this is an improvement over the last study in 2010, which found that KCOM generated £150m for the local economy and underpinned more than 1,400 FTE jobs.

Gary Young, KCOM’s Consumer Director, said:

“This report confirms the positive impact we have on the local economy and the lives of people across Hull and East Yorkshire. As a business founded in Hull and a mainstay of the local economy for many decades, we are proud that we make such a significant and growing contribution to local employment and economic wellbeing.”

The report also claims that the enhanced broadband connectivity being rolled out through KCOM’s Lightstream fibre optic network (ultrafast FTTP with some FTTC) promotes economic and business growth, although they don’t provide a download link or any estimated figures to support that claim.