Manchester business broadband ‘stuck in the past’
Despite calling itself the digital city, Manchester broadband for businesses lags well behind the faster speeds available in the capital.
This was highlighted back in 2014 when Deloitte looked at the state of connectivity in the North West and found many small businesses at a distinct disadvantage due to a lack of Fibre-To-The-Premises, with the highest speeds in short supply.
Broadband provider and telecoms giant Virgin aims to disrupt the market yet again by bringing its ultrafast Voom Fibre business broadband to Manchester’s city centre.
Manchester business broadband is ‘just bad’
Voom Fibre will offer download speeds of up to 350Mbps in Manchester, where Ofcom estimates the average business broadband speed is 16.5 Mbps.
Voom Fibre was launched by Virgin chairman Sir Richard Branson in early May 2017, with prices starting at £30 per month.
Making the announcement Martin McFayden, Regional Director at Virgin Media Business said: “Too many office blocks and small businesses in Manchester are stuck in the analogue age and businesses are suffering as a result.
“By expanding our ultrafast network into the bustling Deansgate area, we can transform hundreds of businesses and give them the connectivity they deserve.
“We’re on a mission to help small businesses thrive by giving them more speed than they need through our new, market disrupting broadband, Voom Fibre.
“To make all this happen the cooperation of local councils and landlords is essential to getting planning approvals so that office blocks and business premises are connected without delay.”
Sir Richard Branson himself has been fronting ‘The Voom Bus’ which is touring the country. During its stay in Manchester it offered small businesses and local entrepreneurs the opportunity to network with experts, attend workshops and find out more about starting-up small businesses.
