Member Article

£500k superfast broadband investment planned for Middlesbrough

Teesside based telecommunication business, Odyssey Systems, have welcomed the £500k superfast broadband investment planned for Middlesbrough.

Work is set to begin later in 2014 in phase one of a project to introduce superfast broadband to the town, which will benefit more than 90% of homes and businesses in the town.

Phase two, which runs up to 2017, has also been given the green light to enter the development phase by Middlesbrough Council and includes a proposal to spend £197k, which will deliver the service to around local 500 businesses.

Once the new broadband infrastructure is available it will make Middlesbrough an attractive proposition for companies looking to invest in the region, ultimately boosting the local economy.

Managing director, Mike Odysseas, said: “This investment will offer huge potential for Middlesbrough and Teesside and could help inject tens of millions of pounds into the economy if the right businesses are attracted to the area.

“Unfortunately, for some time the cart has been put before the horse as technology to improve business operations and deliver solutions such as cloud computing and to support remote working has been available for some time; however, the implementation of infrastructure to get maximum benefit from those systems has somewhat lagged behind.

“Once this is addressed the future could be very bright for the town.

“Not only will it allow existing businesses to better compete and be more productive, it will also attract new businesses to the area.

“In comparison to other parts of the country, business costs are relatively low on Teesside and we have a talented workforce.

“The addition of an effective technology infrastructure completes that triumvirate and boosts opportunities for Middlesbrough.”