London will see next-generation 5G networks in place in a matter of years, the city’s mayor has promised.
Boris Johnson will this week announce the first long-term infrastructure investment plan for the city, which will see the University of Surrey develop and deploy new networks to provide superfast download speeds for the city’s residents.
"London is earning a reputation for being the tech capital of Europe and that is why we need to ensure every Londoner is able to access the very best digital connectivity," Johnson will say, according to the Telegraph.
"Rapidly improving the connectivity of this great city is a key part of the Infrastructure Plan for London."
The Mayor will also lay out his assessment of London’s infrastructure needs between now and 2050, with consultation beginning on some aspects in the near future. It will be the first ever attempt to state London’s needs and how much they might cost, and will also include proposals to reform the planning system to encourage infrastructure improvements.
As part of the announcement, Johnson will also look to help prospective tenants or buyers by making specific information concerning broadband speeds for of individual properties a mandatory part of property listings.
Using this data, provided by the city’s communications providers, he will look to develop a map of where infrastructure investment most pressingly needed, and allocate funding or investment accordingly.
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A mixture of both new technologies and traditional broadband services are likely to be needed in order to ensure the capital’s residents stay connected, it is thought.
London is widely acknowledged as one of the key European technology hubs, with its digital technology sector set to grow 5.1% a year for the next ten years according to forecasts by Oxford Economics, which predicted an additional £12bn ($20bn) of economic activity and 46,000 new jobs in the city by 2024.
