Broadband News
News, views and analysis
Libraries in line for faster broadband
08 Dec 2009 | 08.00 Europe/London
Broadband speeds at public libraries are set for a major boost thanks to a new agreement between the Museum Libraries and Archives Council (MLA) and the bodies who fund and run the Janet education and research network.
Janet (which stands for Joint Academic NETwork) links education and research establishments and can provide 1Gb connections to buildings on its network. The MLA estimates this would allow most libraries to increase the speed of their fibre broadband connections tenfold.
A handful of libraries are believed to have already have access to Janet but a spokesperson for the MLA pointed out that these have been arranged on an individual basis. From now on, libraries have a formal agreement to switch their connection to Janet and vastly improve the speed of web access for staff and library users.
MLA Chief Executive Roy Clare believes that the deal is a huge step forward for public broadband provision.
“This is the biggest digital advance for public libraries since internet services were introduced through the People’s Network,” he said.
“The MLA is pushing ahead with further developments in its range of digital resources for users of public libraries. We urge all public libraries to speed up their internet connections and actively promote their existing 24/7 on-line services.”
The sentiment is echoed by David Ruse, Director of Libraries and Culture Westminster City Council, who believes public services need to keep up with the public’s demand for online services which are increasingly bandwidth hungry.
“This is very good news for library users,” he said. “With the increasing amount of digital content available in bandwidth-hungry video or interactive formats, the higher speeds available through the JANET network should remove those frustrating pauses as files buffer and load, and allow our users to focus on the content, rather than the IT. We will certainly be considering the cost-benefits of this in Westminster.”
A spokesman for the MLA revealed there is a cost associated with libraries switching to Janet but points out that if considered across an entire council, taking libraries and schools in to account, the switch can actually cost less budget overall and vastly improves connection speeds. This is important because the service is offered in public locations where connections are shared between many people.
Janet (which stands for Joint Academic NETwork) links education and research establishments and can provide 1Gb connections to buildings on its network. The MLA estimates this would allow most libraries to increase the speed of their fibre broadband connections tenfold.
A handful of libraries are believed to have already have access to Janet but a spokesperson for the MLA pointed out that these have been arranged on an individual basis. From now on, libraries have a formal agreement to switch their connection to Janet and vastly improve the speed of web access for staff and library users.
Major advance
MLA Chief Executive Roy Clare believes that the deal is a huge step forward for public broadband provision.
“This is the biggest digital advance for public libraries since internet services were introduced through the People’s Network,” he said.
“The MLA is pushing ahead with further developments in its range of digital resources for users of public libraries. We urge all public libraries to speed up their internet connections and actively promote their existing 24/7 on-line services.”
The sentiment is echoed by David Ruse, Director of Libraries and Culture Westminster City Council, who believes public services need to keep up with the public’s demand for online services which are increasingly bandwidth hungry.
“This is very good news for library users,” he said. “With the increasing amount of digital content available in bandwidth-hungry video or interactive formats, the higher speeds available through the JANET network should remove those frustrating pauses as files buffer and load, and allow our users to focus on the content, rather than the IT. We will certainly be considering the cost-benefits of this in Westminster.”
Balanced cost
A spokesman for the MLA revealed there is a cost associated with libraries switching to Janet but points out that if considered across an entire council, taking libraries and schools in to account, the switch can actually cost less budget overall and vastly improves connection speeds. This is important because the service is offered in public locations where connections are shared between many people.