HGfL gets £5.5m upgrade

The Hertfordshire Grid for Learning (HGfL) has secured a £5.5 million upgrade to allow teachers and students to access educational resources more effectively online.

More than 570 educational websites throughout Hertfordshire will get faster web access through the Virgin Media Group's ntl: Telewest Business and 178,000 students will directly benefit from the improvement.

The network offers access to e-learning services that can be used both in the classroom and at home, with thousands of hours of digitised newsreel being one of the resources on offer.

Dave Mansfield, technical infrastructure manager at Hertfordshire county council, said: "Having a high-speed infrastructure in place that supports virtual learning environments, secure email and finance and human resources systems is no longer just an added extra for schools."

Faster broadband speeds could help facilitate quicker download times, while also making VoIP solutions run more efficiently.

In related news, York Data Services has invested £275,000 in fibre services to deliver high-speed broadband for businesses in and around York.