Business demand ensures Lynch Wood gets connected to the CORE

LYNCH Wood businesses have got behind a campaign to get their business park connected to Peterborough’s pure fibre network and they’ve been successful! CityFibre, the company behind the Peterborough CORE network, committed to extending the network to Lynch Wood if there was enough interest from firms in the area. It then launched the Gig Up Lynch Wood campaign to encourage businesses to sign up. Today, it was announced at Opportunity Peterborough's Bondholder's Breakfast that more than 50 per cent of businesses in Lynch Wood had registered an interest in the Peterborough CORE, with a number already signed up to take services. As a result, CityFibre will undertake to invest in an extension of the city's new digital infrastructure. Andy Starnes, city development manager at CityFibre, said: "With first Fengate and now Lynch Wood demanding fibre, it's clear what the business community wants. We said if there was demand for the Peterborough CORE then we would deliver it and we're delighted that Lynch Wood has got behind the Gig Up campaign to get connected! "Ultra-fast internet connectivity shouldn't be a dream for local businesses, it's happening now in Peterborough and we're grateful for all the support we've had from our partners, the council and the people who want to future-proof their firms." Construction is due to begin in Lynch Wood in the spring. Businesses signing up with service providers will be saving about £100,000 of combined construction costs. Meanwhile, a Gig Up Orton Southgate campaign is due to be launched next Thursday at the Digital Peterborough 2015 Directors' Lunch at Peterborough Arena. The campaign will help CityFibre gauge demand to extend the Peterborough CORE into the business park. CityFibre has divided Orton Southgate into three areas - east, west and central - and assigned registration targets for each. If targets are met, the company has committed to start the detailed planning process required to get the area connected. A registration of interest is no obligation to take a service but allows CityFibre to map demand. Lindsey Hall, managing director of EasyLifeIT, based in Orton Southgate, launched the Yes2Fibre campaign in October 2013 in a bid to influence policy and become a voice for Peterborough businesses suffering from poor broadband in the commercial districts. She said: "Peterborough needs fibre. In some parts of the city our digital infrastructure is still stuck in the 20th Century. I urge businesses to register to Gig Up Orton Southgate. As a business owner in that area myself, I can't wait to get connected to the Peterborough CORE and take advantage of gigabit speed connectivity." To register your business visit www.peterboroughcore.com. Follow us on Twitter @PboroCORE.