Onyx says fibre broadband attracted it to South Yorkshire

IT support services firm Onyx has revealed high-quality fibre optic broadband persuaded it to open data centres in South Yorkshire.

The company acquired its second data centre in the county last year after being attracted by the prevalence of "fast, good-quality broadband", explained chief executive Neil Stephenson.

Speaking to Insider Media, Mr Stephenson said the company felt data centre services were required in the region to maximise the commercial opportunities created by the investment in super-fast broadband infrastructure.

"We saw a really good fit of following an investment that had already been made and a data centre that was already there where we could take our expertise," he commented.

South Yorkshire is the home of the Digital Region network, which comprises 350 miles of fibre optic cables spanning the entire county.

When it is completed, the network will deliver next-generation broadband access to 1.3 million people, 546,000 homes and 40,000 businesses in and around the towns and cities of Barnsley, Doncaster, Rotherham and Sheffield.