Public sector organisations across Greater Manchester will have easier and faster access to digital services thanks to a major new communications network being implemented by digital infrastructure specialist Telent in partnership with Cisco.
Telent was selected to assist with the design, build and management of the Greater Manchester (GM) One Network for Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA) and other partners including Transport for Greater Manchester (TFGM) and Bury, Rochdale, Stockport and Oldham local authorities.
GM One Network will create faster and more resilient data connections to over 1,300 public sites across the city-region including many schools, community centres, fire stations and traffic control signals.
“Reliable and fast connectivity is essential for businesses and public services to operate efficiently and for people to engage effectively with these services,” said Jo Gretton, CEO at Telent. “We are delighted to have been given the opportunity to provide our expertise in delivering the GM One Network to fulfil the region’s ambitious digital transformation.”
The core network is close to completion and has a current backbone speed of 100G with a design that allows expansion and adoption of 400G and above speeds in the future on the current platform. This will support all public sector organisations in the region, with the first of the 1,300 locations being connected to the new network in early 2024.
GMCA’s ‘do things once’ approach will provide a single active network across Greater Manchester with separate virtual networks for each organisation. It aims to provide cost savings – eliminating the need for individual networks and infrastructure services – and service improvements by streamlining systems and reducing duplication.
“I’m pleased to see continued collaborative work and the delivery of a multi-year social value programme for organisations and our people across Greater Manchester, through programmes like GM One Network programme,” said Councillor Nick Peel, GMCA Portfolio lead for Digital City-Region. “This includes business mentoring, creation of apprenticeship opportunities and support for start-up businesses to build new products and services. The work Telent is doing in this space supports our aim to tackle the digital divide and will enable Greater Manchester to continue to grow as a world leading digital city region.”
The Digital Blueprint for Greater Manchester outlines bold ambitions to become a world-class digital city-region. The blueprint sets out many priorities including ensuring everyone in the region can safely access and benefit from the opportunities digital brings if they want to, such as accessing relevant online public services. It also commits to helping the residents of Greater Manchester become confident internet users. One of the key goals laid out in this framework was building out world class digital infrastructure for the region and leveraging network assets across the public sector.
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