YE OLDE York has joined the digital revolution following the launch of fibre optic internet connection in the city’s oldest shopping street.

Shambles, one of Europe’s best preserved medieval streets with buildings from the 14th century, is keeping pace with technology, now boasting internet speeds of up to 1000Mbps.

And the installation of fibre optic cabling along the cobbled street and in King’s Court has already made an impact for businesses.

David Emery, creative director for Impact Communications Ltd in King’s Court, said: “We were actively looking to relocate as slow broadband was making our business unsustainable – the arrival of the new fibre broadband service has completely eliminated our need to move out of the city centre.”

More than £100,000 from Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) was secured through the Gigabit Voucher Scheme to fund the installation.

The scheme offers up to £2,500 to help individual businesses gain access to a Gigabit capable connection which can be aggregated, enabling the businesses along Shambles to raise the funds.

City of York Council worked with the DCMS, contractor FACTCO and installer EuroComs to bring fit-for-purpose fibre connectivity to more than 40 city centre businesses. The installation had to take into account the listed buildings, avoiding any disturbance to the brick work, beams and historical features, and was done throughout the night over four weeks.

Cllr Andy D’Agorne, deputy leader of City of York Council, said: “Internet connectivity is not a luxury but a necessity to many of the residents and businesses in our city. This is why we are keen to work with providers and funders to give York’s businesses the best connectivity possible and allow them to experience the full benefit of living and working in the UK’s first Gigabit city.”

Cllr Keith Aspden, council leader, said: “Our digital infrastructure is supporting our residents and businesses with future-ready connectivity to be productive and innovative in the 21st century.

“We’re pleased to see the historic Shambles and King’s Court benefitting from our city’s connectivity and the success of another innovative approach to advancing York’s digital infrastructure.”

Matt Warman, Minister for digital and broadband said: “We’re committed to future-proofing our communities and boosting the economy by delivering world-class, gigabit-capable broadband to the whole of the UK.

“Nowhere is our ambition more clear than on the Shambles, where I’m very pleased that our £67 million Gigabit Broadband Voucher Scheme is providing York’s oldest street with the very fastest fibre connectivity around.”

The old copper element was replaced by a1000Mb private leased line which was installed into King’s Court then extended onto Shambles via the overhead gantry, offering businesses a direct fibre connection. This approach will be replicated to other harder to reach areas and those which ordinarily don’t attract investment.