GBP2.5m Greater Manchester Broadband Programme Moves Forward

Several local authorities across the Greater Manchester area (e.g. Bolton, Salford etc.) in North West England have each agreed to contribute £312,500 (total £2.5 million) to help boost superfast broadband (30Mbps+) coverage for SME businesses.

Greater Manchester’s Local Broadband Plan is designed to be “complemented” by Manchester City Council’s and Salford City Council’s Urban Broadband Fund (Super-Connected Cities) award of £12 million from the Government and more funding is also being sought from the EU.

The project’s original aim was to make superfast broadband speeds of at least 30Mbps available to areas where slower / sub-2Mbps connectivity remained the norm. However it’s important to stress that the city council areas of Manchester and Salford are subject to different arrangements for state aid and funding and £2.5m is just a drop on the ocean for such a large urban area.

At the time of writing a final plan for how the money will actually be spent has yet to be finalised.