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Sunderland's superfast broadband "is excellent news" for the city
Wednesday 16th November 2011, by Sam Pickard
Sunderland will benefit enormously from the incoming superfast broadband which BT is investing millions of pounds in, according to an expert.
Dr Alastair Irons, head of computing, engineering and technology at Sunderland University, said that people in their homes will see a "big difference" and it should prevent computers from crashing while using photos or video.
His words came after BT announced that 90 per cent of the city's homes and businesses will be able to access the superfast broadband service, which should be up and running by the middle of 2012.
He told the Sunderland Echo that homeowners will be able to access better-quality graphics on their PC, such as high definition video feeds from sites like BBC iPlayer.
Businesses will also benefit from the move, and it could even see Sunderland become an attractive location for software companies who will look to deliver their product over the internet.
"The more people we can get into the city the better chance we have of getting them to set up businesses in Sunderland once they graduate and it will also provide the city with graduate expertise with businesses already here,” he said.
Dr Irons went on to say that the broadband facility was "absolutely excellent news" for businesses and the university itself.
"It will help businesses by giving them the opportunity to do much fancier things than they can do at the moment, which will promote information to customers."
Simon Roberson, BT's regional partnership director, added that while speed is the understandable headline, the service will also bring with it additional capacity and capability.
"With manufacturing businesses, the internet is important in managing supply chains. If you’re doing business with Japan or North Korea, that will be online," he explained.
Sunderland is home to a host of manufacturing plants, including Nissan motors, Liebherr and Magnet Trade, while it also has a steep history in ship building.
