VMO2 and GMCA enable free fibre for community sites

A total of 17 public sites in Greater Manchester, including homeless shelters, charities and community centres, will receive free fibre connectivity until 2025 as part of a joint programme between Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA) and Virgin Media Business.

Deeplish Community Centre in Rochdale is one of the sites benefiting from free fibre connectivity.

“The free fibre broadband at Deeplish Community Centre is improving people’s prospects and breaking down digital exclusion barriers made worse during the pandemic, said Sohail Ahmad, Operations Manager at the centre.

“Now more than 500 local people can now get online for free at our centre, learning new skills: online banking, using digital tools to support the language barrier we have in our community, or enabling children to do their homework.”

The partnership between VMO2 and GMCA began in 2020 and has since connected more than 1,500 public sites with 2,700km of new fibreoptic broadband infrastructure, marking the UK’s largest public sector LFFN programme.

This has included over 150 children’s centres, 97 school sites and 70 libraries.

It is estimated that the project has delivered £19.7m-worth of economic value to the local area in just ??? years. Virgin Media Business has also taken on 38 new Greater Manchester-based apprentices.

“This programme has set a standard for industry, public sector and communities working together towards fixing the digital divide.” said Cllr Eamonn O’Brien, Leader of Bury Council and GMCA Lead for Education, Skills, Work, Apprenticeships and Digital.

“Today, digital connectivity is not just a nice to have, it’s an essential part of the way we live and work,” added Mike Smith, Large Enterprise & Public Sector Director at VMO2.