Dormant fiber-optic cabling propels UK 'tech city's' future

Oct. 25, 2012
Decade-old network of cables may hold the key to the UK city of Manchester's future.

As reported by the BBC News, "After lying dormant beneath the streets of Manchester [UK], it now seems a decade-old network of cables could hold the key to the city's future."

"The 48-mile [fiber-optic] Loop network is being brought to life to host ultra-fast broadband at speeds rarely seen outside London -- a massive boost for increasingly technology-dependent businesses that have [lately] struggled to cope with too-slow Internet connections, and had no idea they were [sitting] on a hidden 'pot of gold'."

Related coverage: Hidden network of cables will help city stay in the loop

The report says that the dark fiber network, which spreads for many miles into surrounding municipalities, was laid ahead of the 2002 Manchester Commonwealth Games at the height of the Dotcom Bubble, but went unused after its developer went into financial insolvency.

Read the full story here.

See also:Dark fiber installation can be risky business

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