Charities may benefit from super-fast internet speeds

Sheffield-based IT support firm ESP and local internet supplier Digital City Region Broadband have joined forces on a project currently codenamed CharityNet, designed to bring the next-generation broadband revolution to third-sector organisations around the South Yorkshire region.

"We want to provide an opportunity for charities, social enterprises and the not-for-profit sector to access Digital Region, because we can see tremendous benefits for those types of organisations – particularly those wanting to offer innovative services for their end-users or needing to upgrade their core IT requirements," said ESP managing director Morgan Killick.

"There are so many ways charities can benefit from what Digital Region has to offer. It can be as simple as enabling them to use free telephone calls between offices, using internet voice calls on the CharityNet service.

"It might be a youth centre that wants to provide wireless internet for the large groups of young people who come and visit the club – so many young people have mobiles or laptops that can go on the internet now.

"It might be video-conferencing, helping these charities talk to their clients, to service users, or to each other online. It might be sharing data between their offices. It might even be developing a community TV station online.

"We are looking at all sorts of innovative ideas."

Charities from across the South Yorkshire area will be invited to make bids to sign up to the CharityNet service showing how they and the wider community will benefit from being hooked up to the new technology.

Digital City Region Broadband owner George Taylor will then offer the high-speed connection at a subsidised rate, while ESP – a social enterprise which specialises in working with third-sector organisations – will provide installation, advice on how the service can revolutionise the charity's operations and on-going IT support.

"The Digital Region project is an enabler for these sorts of organisations to reach out and do things they have always wanted to do but cannot at the moment, because the technology just hasn't been there," Mr Killick said.

"It's a very exciting time."