There was significant interest in our Broadband & Connectivity Seminar on Tuesday with packing into Grosvenor’s event space. The seminar, chaired by Brian Bickell Chief Executive of Shaftesbury and Chair of WPA’s Transport & Infrastructure Committee, began with a presentation by Jack Vailfrom the Barrier Busting Taskforce at the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) on some of the initiatives the department is pursuing.
The panel members then provided their opening comments which included:
- Nick Jones, Associate Director, Mayfair at Grosvenor Britain & Ireland
Nick discussed Grosvenor’s 20 year vision and its commitment for over 90% of the estate to have access to superfast and ultrafast broadband, noting this was in response to some frustration by residents and SMEs. - Mark Kildea, Financial Director at Howard de Walden Estates
Mark explained the Estate’s strategy to improve broadband speeds was needed in order to alleviate the concerns of its occupiers, particularly medical, and take advantage of modern Cloud technologies. After rolling out a number of improvements across the estate the next steps included considering public wifi options for Marylebone High Street and early roll out option for 5G. - Cllr Jonathan Glanz, Lead Member for Broadband at Westminster City Council
Cllr Glanz then gave an overview of Connect Westminster – an SME voucher scheme launched by WCC to support better connection speeds as well as other initiatives Westminster City Council is leading on to increase the borough’s broadband speeds. - Tom Redmayne, Business Development for UK & Ireland at WiredScore
Tom provided a valuable occupier’s perspective on broadband and highlighted how new wireless technologies support connectivity.
A copy of their presentations can be found here.
More information on the Connect Westminster scheme can be found here.
To view the standardised wayleave toolkit please click here.
To contact Jack Vail and his barrier busting team please email jack.vail@culture.gov.uk or call 020 7211 2077 / 07525 919 121.
