'Anglesey Connected' hailed as an example to Wales

e-gov monitor | 4 Aug 2005

Source: Anglesey County Council
Published Thursday, 4 August, 2005 - 15:48

Broad-band experts yesterday heard how the County Council's Anglesey Connected project is at the forefront of efforts to deliver a sustainable services across Wales.

Wales Broad-band Stakeholders Group Chairman, Charles Bass, told delegates, gathered at the Trearddur Bay Hotel, that Anglesey Connected was a project the Island could be proud of and an example to the whole nation.

He added, "This project demonstrates how innovative thinking combined with the use of technology can contribute to improving the lives of citizens and businesses on Anglesey. It was important that the Group met on the Island to see how Anglesey has implemented this award winning project, learn from their experiences and take these back to the rest of Wales."

Entry level broad-band access is 10 times faster than conventional 'dial up' connections from your computer to the Internet, so information requested is received much quicker.

Anglesey Connected was launched in 2003 as an innovative wireless broad-band Internet access project. The first network of its kind in the UK, it has created the infrastructure for a broad-band community network across the whole Island. This has meant high Internet access for schools, libraries, learning centres and public offices.

The Isle of Anglesey County Council sits on the Wales Broad-band Stakeholders Group as a representative of the public sector. It also comprises the Welsh Assembly Government's Broad-band Director, Michael Eaton, and experts from industry leaders such IBM, Motorola, NTL, BT and others.

County Council Head of ICT Services, David Gardner, commented, "It's gratifying that the group recognises the progress we've made on the Island with Anglesey Connected, and that members are keen to learn more from our project."

ICT Infrastructure Manager, Barry Eaton, added, "We're now looking to move the project forward and work towards utilising the Anglesey Connected network to provide public access to broad-band services."

The network now also provides broad-band services to Coleg Menai and other Learning Centres on the Island. Plans to carryout a working exhibition with local businesses are also on the cards and wireless hotspot access at libraries for laptop and mobile users is currently being rolled out.

ICT portfolio holder, Councillor John Roberts, stressed, "Our provision of broad-band through this innovative project has been a real success story for the County Council. High speed broad-band access is an essential part of today's society, be it in education or business, and it's pleasing to learn that Anglesey is one of the leaders in this field."

Anglesey Connected was created through funding received through the Welsh European Funding Office(WEFO), National Grid for Learning, New Opportunities Fund and Objective One ERDF together with monies from the Local Regeneration Fund.

ENDS

For further information: Gethin Jones, Press Office (01248) 752130

+ Source: eGov monitor website here

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

+ Related article:

Anglesey Connected broadband project highlights strong progress

publictechnology.net | 5 August 2005

Read article here