Telecommunication, ICT & Broadband
The UK is ranked ahead of all its main competitors in terms of ‘e-readiness.’
Within the UK, Wales is at the forefront of ICT development. The network is fully digital and linked via fibre-optic technology.
Businesses locating in Wales will enjoy the advantages of:
- Affordable broadband anywhere in Wales
- Advanced networks
- High speed connections between Wales and an international Internet hub
- A world-leading wireless broadband network in Cardiff
Broadband
Wales has high speed, competitive broadband networks servicing all the major cities, towns and commercial centres. South Wales is served by BT, Virginmedia , AOL, Sky/Easynet, TalkTalk and others. In the north, BT’s business broadband services compete with a growing list of innovative broadband services derived from the FibreSpeed open access network.
Using FibreSpeed’s wholesale products, broadband service providers can offer symmetrical speeds from 10 Mbps to 10 Gbps using Ethernet or native fibre services. FibreSpeed connects directly with the Manchester Internet Exchange, offering a high speed gateway to the global internet.
Mobile Network
Mobile phone coverage in Wales is good, with 97% availability of a basic second generation mobile service from at least one mobile operator. Wales also continues to see the roll-out of more advanced third generation (3G) mobile services articularly in the denser urban areas of the south east. An annual review and update on the status of telecommunications in Wales is available from Ofcom.
www.ofcom.org.uk/research/cm/cmrnr08/wales (External Website)
Datacentres
Next Generation Data (NGD) is investing up to £200 million to create one of Europe’s largest and most technically advanced ‘green’ data-centres. The NGD Europe 1 data-centre is situated in a circa 70,000 sq m facility owned by the Welsh Assembly Government. It is a carrier neutral centre with interconnect points for several major carriers. NGD is working to ensure the provision of direct international connectivity to the US and the rest of the world.
www.nextgenerationdata.co.uk/pdf/NGD%20BROCHURE.pdf (External Website)
Wales is home to the BT data centre in Cardiff Bay. The data centre was purpose-built to support the full range of BT hosting and managed service options. The site consists of three data halls capable of hosting an estimated total of 12,000 servers.
IT, Software and Communications Business Sector
Wales is also home to a thriving IT, Software and Communications sector for further details on how WAG can support companies in these sectors visit the IT, Software & Communications Sector pages.
