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| Manchester offered 'buried treasure' from its half-forgotten underground loop | Manchester offered 'buried treasure' from its half-forgotten underground loop |
| (6 months later) | |
| Manchester's ambition to be a digital city beyond all others (except maybe Leeds) are getting a hand from a little-known loop of cable which spools underground as far as Oldham and Eccles. | Manchester's ambition to be a digital city beyond all others (except maybe Leeds) are getting a hand from a little-known loop of cable which spools underground as far as Oldham and Eccles. |
| It is the fibre optic system buried under local roads by Atlantic Telecom at the time of the Manchester Commonwealth Games 2002, a lustrous moment in the city's history and the direct precursor of this summer's Olympic and Paralympic triumphs in London. | It is the fibre optic system buried under local roads by Atlantic Telecom at the time of the Manchester Commonwealth Games 2002, a lustrous moment in the city's history and the direct precursor of this summer's Olympic and Paralympic triumphs in London. |
| The cables run for 77km (48 miles) between the two northern and western outposts mentioned above to Gorton in the east and Stretford in the south of Manchester. They also encircle the city centre as shown in the spidery diagram herewith. | The cables run for 77km (48 miles) between the two northern and western outposts mentioned above to Gorton in the east and Stretford in the south of Manchester. They also encircle the city centre as shown in the spidery diagram herewith. |
| Although capable of supplying ultrafast connectivity with speeds topping 1 GB/s, the network has been "largely dormant" for more than a decade, since Atlantic went into administration in 2002. It was bought at the time by the communications firm Gamma which has since flourished and now hopes to put the network to greater use. | Although capable of supplying ultrafast connectivity with speeds topping 1 GB/s, the network has been "largely dormant" for more than a decade, since Atlantic went into administration in 2002. It was bought at the time by the communications firm Gamma which has since flourished and now hopes to put the network to greater use. |
| Based at Trafford Park and employing 85 people, Gamma wants to hear from anyone interested – more info here – and meanwhile reckons 'the Loop' as the buried treasure has been named – will help the city realise its aim to be in the world's top 20 'tech cities' soon. Ashley Griffiths, who has the great title of Managing Director of the Loop, says: | Based at Trafford Park and employing 85 people, Gamma wants to hear from anyone interested – more info here – and meanwhile reckons 'the Loop' as the buried treasure has been named – will help the city realise its aim to be in the world's top 20 'tech cities' soon. Ashley Griffiths, who has the great title of Managing Director of the Loop, says: |
| This is a recycled asset which Manchester has been sitting on for more than a decade. We have kept this network maintained and the time is now right to make it available to local businesses. | This is a recycled asset which Manchester has been sitting on for more than a decade. We have kept this network maintained and the time is now right to make it available to local businesses. |
| Organisations located on or close to The Loop can now access ultra-fast internet connectivity and high quality communications services from the same fibre cable feed, giving them a much more flexible telephony service. Ultrafast, reliable internet is vital for any business to prosper and we can deliver state-of-the-art technology cheaply, quickly and efficiently. | Organisations located on or close to The Loop can now access ultra-fast internet connectivity and high quality communications services from the same fibre cable feed, giving them a much more flexible telephony service. Ultrafast, reliable internet is vital for any business to prosper and we can deliver state-of-the-art technology cheaply, quickly and efficiently. |
| The firm's chief executive Bob Falconer echoes this: | The firm's chief executive Bob Falconer echoes this: |
| The Loop gives us significant network capacity and coverage in the Manchester area, in some cases, where no other fibre network capacity or capability exists. We can provide high capacity internet and voice services to specific locations at a competitive price as the cabling is already installed. | The Loop gives us significant network capacity and coverage in the Manchester area, in some cases, where no other fibre network capacity or capability exists. We can provide high capacity internet and voice services to specific locations at a competitive price as the cabling is already installed. |
| We recognise that Manchester aspires to be the UK's tech city and needs the very best in connectivity to achieve this, and we want to help the city realise this ambition. Today it would cost tens of millions to install this level of cabling from scratch and cause massive disruption by digging up the roads. | We recognise that Manchester aspires to be the UK's tech city and needs the very best in connectivity to achieve this, and we want to help the city realise this ambition. Today it would cost tens of millions to install this level of cabling from scratch and cause massive disruption by digging up the roads. |
And if you did that, you can be sure the water company, gas or electricity would be along within weeks to do it all over again. | And if you did that, you can be sure the water company, gas or electricity would be along within weeks to do it all over again. |
| Success isn't guaranteed for the system which the company bought at a poorly-attended auction for £1.7 million and tried initially to use for a local TV network. Neither interest nor technology at the time was up to the mark and things went into abeyance while Gamma concentrated on other projects. | Success isn't guaranteed for the system which the company bought at a poorly-attended auction for £1.7 million and tried initially to use for a local TV network. Neither interest nor technology at the time was up to the mark and things went into abeyance while Gamma concentrated on other projects. |
| It will be interesting to see how things go this time round, with talk of 'gold beneath the streets' from the rosiest supporters. Such networks are rare although Portsmouth has one, as does central London where the cables are housed in a Victorian copper 'air tube' which used to whoosh the then equivalent of emails between companies and their clients. | It will be interesting to see how things go this time round, with talk of 'gold beneath the streets' from the rosiest supporters. Such networks are rare although Portsmouth has one, as does central London where the cables are housed in a Victorian copper 'air tube' which used to whoosh the then equivalent of emails between companies and their clients. |
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