SUPERFAST SOUTH YORKSHIRE

Copyright: Mobileuk.org

There has been significant discussion about the possibility of 5G masts emitting harmful radiation, which has led to some people being very concerned about these masts in their areas. It is correct that mobile phones and the applicable service masts do transmit and receive radio waves, which are a type of electromagnetic radiation just like the waves emitted by our TVs, remote controls, home Wi-Fi and so on. However, importantly, this type of radiation is classed in scientific terms as non-ionising when used within guidelines. It is widely recognized that the strength of the signals is extremely weak and therefore does not have enough energy to cause adverse health effects.

You can learn more about the benefits, businesses applications, and health concerns associated with 5G on the Mobile UK website.

Residents in new build developments increasingly expect fast, reliable broadband, with more uses for broadband than ever before, across more devices than ever before, including media streaming in ultra-HD, home working, online gaming, video-calling, online shopping, and smart home security. The provision of gigabit-capable full fibre broadband will make properties more attractive to buyers and will meet the resident’s broadband requirements. Since December 2022, developers of residential sites are required by planning regulations to include the infrastructure needed for a gigabit-capable internet connection, as this expectation has been recognised by national government.

Having the right level of connectivity is crucial for commercial developments to ensure businesses have the complete infrastructure available from the first day of operations. In an increasingly connected commercial world, digital connectivity is rarely an optional extra for businesses, but an absolute essential.

Businesses require reliable internet access that can support their work, not only with office staff using online programs, cloud-based storage, payment processing and video-calling, but also with machinery requiring connectivity for programming and maintenance. 

As with residential developments, being able to offer high-quality connectivity will be essential for developers to sell and fill the site. Network operators are equally interested in working to provide connectivity at commercial sites as at residential sites but, critically, need to be made aware of developments are the earliest possible opportunity to enable the best solution.

If you have any questions regarding the installation of gigabit capable infrastructure to a development, please get in touch via email.

The UK Government is on a mission to deliver lightning-fast, reliable broadband to homes and businesses across the UK, with a target of achieving 85% gigabit coverage by 2025. To support this, the Government have committed £5 billion to connect hard to reach rural communities across the country through a project known as Project Gigabit.

Project Gigabit will bring full fibre broadband to some of the most rural parts of South Yorkshire. The project will target properties with the slowest speeds that would have otherwise been left behind by commercial plans by using government funding to install full fibre infrastructure.

Rural homes and businesses from across the region will be able to access lighting fast speeds of up to 1000Mbps - this is fast enough to download an HD movie in less than 30 seconds and lays the foundations for tomorrow's tech such as 8K-quality video streaming. The average download speeds for South Yorkshire currently stands at 76.4Mbps, gigabit broadband will be over 13x faster than this.

Table : Download speeds across different broadband speeds.

Copyright : superfastsouthyorkshire.co.uk

Residents and businesses in rural areas have the opportunity to apply for Gigabit Vouchers to help towards providing the coverage they need. Launched in April 2021, a fund up to £210 million was created to help subsidise the cost of connecting rural homes and businesses to the full fibre network. Residents can apply for vouchers up to the value of £1500 and businesses £3500 to form community led partnerships. 

Communities across South Yorkshire in Tankersley, Pilley and Billingley have successfully made use of the scheme and are benefitting from gigabit capable broadband. 

To find out if your community could benefit from a gigabit voucher project visit  the Gigabit Voucher Website. Gigabit vouchers are currently suspended in the South Yorkshire area, while the South Yorkshire element of Project Gigabit is in its planning phase; once the scope of the local Project Gigabit program is confirmed, communities that will not benefit from a connection through Project Gigabit will be able to apply for Gigabit Vouchers. 

Having secured funding from the Department of Culture, Media and Sport and Building Digital UK, Yorkshire Water with Arcadis and The University of Strathclyde are conducting a 2-year trial in which they will look to deploy 17km of fibre optic cables in drinking water pipes between Penistone and Barnsley. 

If successful, rolling out this approach could create exciting new scope to get fibre broadband into hard-to-reach areas, potentially allowing up to 8500 homes to access full fibre broadband through the existing water pipe network. This carries the additional benefit that the communications cables will help to detect cracks and leaks in the pipes, facilitating quicker repairs and less wastage of water.

Visit Yorkshire Water's website for more information on this project.