North Yorkshire County Council has selected the UK's incumbent BT to support the deployment of a new high-speed network called NYnet that will let public sector bodies at nearly 500 sites move to a single core network. The new network is a next generation broadband network capable of providing access to a range of media from a number of devices, including PCs, laptops and smart-phones.
The public sector bodies in the vicinity will be able to use the network as a means to share resources. For example, schools in the county will be able to share online seminars or IT applications used in teaching. Bodies that regularly work together, for instance the child protection services and the police, will be able to use the network to share access to common databases.
The announcement represents the second phase of the county's public sector-led, open access, broadband infrastructure initiative.
The deal is to be delivered by the public and private sector commercial venture created by North Yorkshire County Council with funding from Yorkshire Forward, the area's regional development agency, and Government Office Yorkshire and Humber. BT is acting as the private sector technology partner.