Subject - NEWS RELEASE - Eastserve Broadband

NEWS RELEASE



FROM NEW EAST MANCHESTER



187 GREY MARE LANE, BESWICK, MANCHESTER M11 3ND

16 March 2009

Eastserve takes a step forward with Symera signing

Beverley Hughes MP, Minister for the North West visited east Manchester today to witness New East Manchester and Manchester City Council sign up an internet service provider called Symera Technologies, as a private-sector partner to run Eastserve, the largest community wireless broadband network in the UK. This will allow the award-winning internet provider to expand its network beyond east Manchester and enable more people without a landline to access an affordable wireless connection.

Eastserve was set up in 2000 to tackle the digital divide in east Manchester and to increase the number of residents owning a computer and accessing the internet as well as improving their IT skills. Over 5,500 local residents have received a subsidised computer and been on computer training courses. Currently Eastserve has over 1,500 paying customers signed up to their wireless broadband service and also offers an affordable PC repair centre for users and non-users.

Sean McGonigle, Director of Regeneration for New East Manchester said: “When Eastserve was first set up in 2000 it was truly innovative and when the wireless broadband network was launched in 2003 it became the biggest community broadband network in Europe. It is remarkable that it has survived through a period of intense competition with commercial providers of broadband internet and it is testament to the unique and local service it offers people in east Manchester. With Symera Technologies on board we can now move the service into a new and exciting phase.”

This new joint venture allows Eastserve to further contribute towards Manchester’s ambition of being a world-class digital city and will help to ensure that all our residents, through access to affordable next generation broadband, can benefit from the opportunities being created by the digital world. East Manchester residents will now remain some of the best connected in the country. This is a fantastic opportunity that brings real benefits in terms of new skills, employment opportunities and services."

Nigel Walker, Managing Director from Symera Technologies added: “We’re really pleased to be selected as the private-sector partner for this innovative initiative. The potential for this service is enormous and we will take the project to the next stage and deliver affordable, next generation broadband to many more households and businesses in the area. Our objective is to grow Eastserve so it becomes a city-wide project. We want to make it a more powerful system, that can carry a lot more users.”

Eastserve offers four broadband tariffs ranging from £6 per month for bronze to £20 per month for platinum (up to 4mpbs). For more information and to apply for the Eastserve internet service call 0161 231 9580, click on www.eastserve.com/broadband or call into the Eastserve office at 418 Ashton Old Road in Beswick.

For more information about New East Manchester visit www.neweastmanchester.com and for futher details of Manchester's Digital Strategy visit www.manchesterdda.com

For further information contact Roz Hughes at New East Manchester on 0161 223 1155, ext 2167.