Sefton Metropolitan Borough Council

High-speed communications help get young people online

When the Sefton Learning Grid was first established, it marked out Sefton Metropolitan Borough Council as a progressive local authority. The installation of a high-bandwidth Ethernet Extension not only enabled more efficient business delivery but also provided the region’s young people with online learning opportunities.

However, the Council didn’t stop there. Over the years, it has continued to develop the network to connect an increasing number of council offices, schools, libraries and other community organisations. Our team continues to work closely with the Council to ensure that the communications network meets its needs – helping it to work more efficiently and supporting learning in the community.

Successful partnership for a growing network

With a 22 mile coastline, Sefton is the most northerly of Merseyside’s five metropolitan districts – and one of the most diverse in character. Its borough council serves an area of approximately 150 square miles between the Mersey and Ribble estuaries, with a population of around 280,000. The Ethernet Extension provides the communications infrastructure that supports the Council in its work across the region.

Creating a learning community

When the Sefton Learning Grid was first set up, the Council didn’t just want an infrastructure that would support its own internal communications. It also wanted to be able to provide high-speed data connectivity and internet access to a range of educational and community organisations across the Borough. The communications network we provided has allowed schools across the region to get online – supporting day-to-day administration tasks, enabling staff to access a wide range of teaching resources, and transforming the way that pupils learn.

Over the years, the Sefton Learning Grid has been extended to include youth centres, libraries, leisure centres and children’s homes. Today, the network connects some 280 sites across the region.

Meeting changing requirements

During the development of the Sefton Learning Grid, we’ve worked closely with the Council to ensure that the services we provide continue to meet its changing requirements. During a recent review, it was clear that many of the sites were being supplied with significantly more bandwidth than they actually needed.

To reduce costs, we introduced more flexible billing based on actual network usage. Now, the Council is charged only for the bandwidth that is used at each site – resulting in significant cost-savings.

Doug Sheen, Information Services Director at Sefton Metropolitan Borough Council, has been impressed with our flexible approach. "ntl:Telewest Business was very realistic in its approach. It understood what we were trying to achieve and was practical about the budgetary constraints we faced."

Working together to resolve issues

The partnership between the Council and ntl:Telewest Business has been key to the success of the project. "There has been a consistent willingness to understand where we are coming from," says Doug. "The relationship between the technical staff on both sides is excellent and it’s been helpful that we’ve had the same account management team throughout."

"There are always issues when dealing with a project of this size, duration, complexity and scope," continues Doug. "The productive working relationship has ensured that such issues are actively addressed. We know we can pick up the telephone and get a response quickly. Our close partnership with ntl:Telewest Business means we can work together to find appropriate solutions."

What it has made possible

With ntl:Telewest Business, the Council knows it has a partner it can rely on as it continues to develop its communications infrastructure. As the network grows, it is helping the Council to achieve its business and partnership objectives, enabling it to fulfil the needs and aspirations of the local community.

Doug concludes: "The network provided by ntl:Telewest Business is critical to the effective discharge of the Council’s obligations. It will continue to enable efficient and productive service delivery across the Council and its partner organisations."