The Mayor of London Boris Johnson has today announced three of the capital’s most iconic buildings have become the first to officially sign up to an initiative to boost connectivity across the city.
The ‘Walkie Talkie’ building on Fenchurch Street, the Leadenhall Building, often referred to as the ‘Cheesegrater’ and City Hall have now signed up to be a part of the capital’s first ever Connectivity Ratings Scheme. This initiative from the Mayor will provide businesses of all kinds with a simple way to identify buildings which meet their connectivity needs and encourages landlords to improve the connectivity of their properties.
The trio of buildings join seven others across the capital, including:
- Beacon Capital Partners – CityPoint
- Derwent London – Johnson Building, Morelands Building, Tea Building, The Buckley Building
- Land Securities- 62 Buckingham Gate, One New Change
- Stanhope: Broadcast Centre
In a bid to boost connectivity across the capital and create transparency about effective and affordable broadband, the Mayor has launched the scheme which is now open for companies of all shapes and sizes and property owners to register their interest. He is targeting at least 100 buildings in the capital in its first year of operation.
The Connectivity Ratings Scheme is being delivered by WiredScore who already operate similar programmes across 30 states in the US including New York, Chicago and San Francisco. The Mayor has contributed £50,000 towards the initiative through the London Enterprise Panel. It will allow property managers to receive a technical assessment by an engineer into the connectivity in their buildings, who will then advise on improvements and provide either a platinum, gold, silver or bronze rating. The rating will be listed on a searchable property directory.
Businesses often move in to premises and then discover they do not have the connectivity that they need. Retrofitting can be expensive and difficult, but the Connectivity Ratings Scheme will solve this by providing the information upfront. This will inform businesses about the connectivity levels of buildings they are considering occupying before they agree to take out a lease and is a choice based on competition and affordability, not just download speeds.
The Mayor of London, Boris Johnson, said: “My Connectivity Ratings Scheme launched in partnership with WiredScore will not only help businesses to identify where they can achieve the best broadband speeds, it will encourage landlords to up their game in the connectivity stakes.
“By working to deliver world-class affordable connectivity for everyone we are ensuring that London has the digital infrastructure in place to stay ahead of our competitors.”
William Newton, WiredScore’s UK Director, said: “Our mission at WiredScore is to create a world that is better connected and bring the importance of connectivity to the forefront of the global commercial real estate industry. We are thrilled to work with the Mayor as part of his extraordinary efforts to propel London’s technological advancements. With a global marketplace that is dependent on fast, reliable internet, investing in connectivity means investing in the future of London businesses.”
The Walkie Talkie and Cheesegrater have both achieved platinum status – the top rating available.
Kaela Fenn-Smith, Head of Commercial at Land Securities, said: “We’re really pleased that 20 Fenchurch Street, One New Change and 62 Buckingham Gate are among the first buildings in London to be surveyed by WiredScore and awarded the highest levels of certification. Land Securities is proud of the technical resilience incorporated into our base building design as standard and support the roll-out of an independent, standardised rating which will help our future customers make informed decisions about their offices’ digital connectivity.”
David Lockyer, Head of Office Asset Management, British Land said: “British Land and Oxford Properties are proud to have achieved a Platinum Connectivity Rating for The Leadenhall Building. It is important for London as a whole to have world-class connectivity, in keeping with its rapidly growing reputation as one of the world’s great tech hubs.”
Chris Carter Keall, Vice President and Head of Asset Management, Oxford Properties Group Europe said: “Oxford Properties believes that outstanding connectivity is one of the key occupier criteria for accommodation in today’s ever shrinking global business environment. We are confident that the work we have undertaken with our Partner, British Land, on The Leadenhall Building will ensure that the asset is considered as one of the best connected environments for our occupiers. We are also delighted to support the Mayor of London in championing this new and exciting initiative for London and believe that it will continue to show the city as a world leader.”
Notes to editors
London Infrastructure Plan
The London Infrastructure Plan sets the infrastructure that the Mayor believes the city will require over the next half century.
The London Infrastructure Plan discusses how the city can better embrace existing leading technology, be open yet realistic about the potential of future technology, and suggests how we might better hardwire innovation into our approach to the city’s development.
In addition to establishing a connectivity advisory group and a connectivity rating scheme it also calls for more flexible planning to improve conditions for the roll out of faster broadband across the city using powers set out in the London Plan.
It also champions the use of more effective methods of laying broadband, such as micro-trenching and lobbying to bring planning applications for communications infrastructure within the Mayor’s strategic responsibility, with the ability to take them over for his own determination as a means of last resort.
The London Infrastructure Plan can be accessed here - https://www.london.gov.uk/priorities/business-economy/vision-and-strategy/infrastructure-plan-2050
Connectivity Advisory Group
The Mayor has also established a Connectivity Advisory Group to work in conjunction with the London Infrastructure Delivery Board. The Connectivity Advisory Group has the following objectives:
To work in partnership with providers to tackle the challenge of ubiquitous and affordable connectivity coverage
To take forward a city-wide mapping (including underground) exercise to ascertain existing levels of high speed broadband accessibility and identify the barriers to provision in ‘not-spots’
To develop a profile of business and consumer communities and their potential communication infrastructure needs; consider ways to aggregate demand; and explore ways to encourage the take up superfast broadband
To advise on and assist with the delivery of the Mayor’s Digital Inclusion Plan.
To develop a strategy for better utilising existing infrastructure to deliver improved availability and connection speeds.
Transport for London (TfL) is also focused on utilising its own network to provide connectivity. Through its partnership with Virgin Media at over 150 stations, over one million people are now connected online Underground. All Tube passengers can keep up-to-date with TfL travel information and quality London entertainment and news for free through Virgin Media’s WiFi portal.
The London Enterprise Panel
The London Enterprise Panel (LEP) is the local enterprise partnership for London. Chaired by Mayor of London Boris Johnson, the LEP is the body through which the Mayoralty works with London’s boroughs, business and Transport for London to take a strategic view of the regeneration, employment and skills agenda for London. The LEP is responsible for overseeing the allocation of over £400m of funding to drive jobs and growth in the capital and provides strategic oversight of London’s €1.5 billion European Structural & Investment Funds programme.