Swansea Bay City Deal to build a dedicated dark fibre network

In a major boost to the £1.3bn portfolio of major programmes and projects across Carmarthenshire, Neath Port Talbot, Pembrokeshire and Swansea, the Swansea Bay City Region has appointed Virgin Media O2 Business to build a dedicated dark fibre network to 36 public sector sites in the Swansea city area and Neath Port Talbot.

Programmes and projects in the Swansea Bay City Deal are based on key themes such as economic acceleration, life science and well-being, energy, smart manufacturing and digital. The project is intended to boost the regional economy of its catchment area by at least £1.8bn, while generating more than 9,000 jobs over its 15-year lifespan.

The dark fibre network, due for completion in December 2025, is designed to improve connectivity for local authorities, healthcare and education partners in the region, in particular enhancing health and education-based research and development.

For example, the infrastructure is attributed with being able to future-proof the digital capabilities of the Welsh Ambulance Service University Trust, Swansea Bay University Health Board, Hywel Dda Health Board, Swansea University, the University of Wales, Trinity St David, and the three local authorities – Neath Port Talbot, Swansea and Carmarthenshire.

Said to boast flexibility and scalability, the network will additionally help drive innovation to meet evolving public sector needs, as well as those of the citizens and communities they support. Virgin Media O2 Business said the network models offer “practically limitless” capacity and speeds, allowing significant amounts of heavy data to be stored and shared securely between public sector sites. These benefits should enable better collaborative working and help improve internal services across public sector organisations.

Supporting the drive to future-proof public sector connectivity and enhance public services, the contract awarded by Swansea Bay City Deal’s Digital Infrastructure Programme is one of several designed to ignite public sector services across the region. This network is said to offer “unprecedented” levels of capability to use data to drive innovation, boost economic growth and attract further inward future investment.

“This is an integral step forward for the health boards, local authorities and universities in this area, and will help us collaborate and expand our future research and development relationships,” said Carl Mustad, assistant director of digital technology at Swansea Bay University Health Board. “Modern networks are essential to provide the backbone for cutting-edge telemedicine services, artificial intelligence and improved data management, which in turn supports improvements in diagnostics and patient experience.”

Rob Stewart, leader of Swansea Council and chair of the Swansea Bay City Deal joint committee, added: “Connecting our public sector sites to this type of infrastructure will only improve what can be offered and deliver a far more efficient public service now and in the future. I have no doubt that this latest step forward will solidify our capabilities and will provide a vital platform for our region to demonstrate the level of innovation and opportunities available across Swansea Bay for all sectors and businesses.”

Catherine Amran, customer director at Virgin Media O2 Business, added: “We’re looking forward to working with Swansea Bay City Deal to help connect the Swansea and Neath Port Talbot regions. Virgin Media O2 Business have the largest available dark fibre coverage in the UK. With dark fibre right across our national footprint without any regional restrictions, this new network will provide the region with a range of benefits like increased capacity and speed. Collaborations like this are important for public services, enabling growth and ensuring organisations have access to reliable connectivity.”