This investment is the first phase of a long term Assembly Government programme to transform high bandwidth availability and pricing across Wales and is the first Government - supported network of its kind to be delivered anywhere in the UK.

Part of the financing for the Assembly Government project will come from European Structural Funds managed by the Assembly Government's Wales European Funding Office – and from GEO, the supplier chosen to build and operate the network.

The Assembly Government estimates that the presence of the new North Wales network alone will add up to £29 million a year to the Welsh economy by boosting the productivity of existing companies and attracting inward investment by new companies seeking to take advantage of the network.

Importantly, the provision of a FibreSpeed network funded by the Assembly Government will also bring prices of high bandwidth Internet services within a wide area of North Wales down to a par with those charged in London and the South East of England

Following a competitive, Europe-wide procurement process, the contract to design, build, operate and maintain the FibreSpeed network for a 15-year period has been awarded to Geo, which is part of the Hutchison Whampoa Group and has a strong record in delivering fibre optic networks for major customers. The company currently delivers networks for three of the UK's mobile phone operators and carries approximately 35 per cent of Britain's broadband Internet traffic.

The business parks include: Parc Cybi on Anglesey, Parc Menai (including CAST Technium), Parc Bryn Cegin and Victoria Dock, Caernarfon, in Gwynedd, Llandudno Junction and Parc Caer Seion in Conwy, St.Asaph Business Park (including OPTIC Technium) in Denbighshire, St. David's Park, Deeside Industrial Park, Hawarden Business Park and Warren Hall, in Flintshire, Wrexham Industrial Estate and Wrexham Technology Park. Discussions continue with private sector developers about the possibility of connecting other sites in the near future.

Deputy First Minister Mr. Jones said: "An advanced telecommunications infrastructure is absolutely vital to the kind of economic development we want to achieve in Wales.

"FibreSpeed is a major step in the creation of an infrastructure, which will give a whole range of Welsh companies and organisations a standard of communications services easily equal to the best in Britain.

"It is part of a process which will facilitate the long term transformation of our economy."

FibreSpeed's initial focus is on serving key strategic business parks - since this is where the benefits will be delivered most rapidly. But FibreSpeed is also expected to benefit many businesses outside the business parks as well as communities and the public sector across the whole North Wales region.

In the near term, the Assembly expects a direct and positive impact of FibreSpeed on the businesses in the target locations, by enabling retail service providers to offer a wider range of new broadband products and services at competitive prices.

But FibreSpeed will also have a positive impact on the wider telecommunications market by making available an alternative infrastructure that could be used by other network operators and other electronic communications operators. The presence of the network is anticipated to drive further private investment from other telecommunications operators and service providers as they seek to extend their own network footprints in Wales, where previously it had been uneconomic to do so.

In the longer term, the Assembly Government believes FibreSpeed will have a transformational impact on Wales, and help economic growth both directly, through development of the ICT industry, and indirectly, through economic spillover effects.

Tangible benefits are expected to come from increased foreign direct investment, new firm creation, increased productivity, the facilitation of new ways of working and collaboration (including private and public sector collaboration) and encouraging innovation through research, development and commercialisation of new products and services.