Many of Europe’s technology pioneers recently descended on London for Internet Week Europe – a five-day festival of events to celebrate the continent’s thriving internet community. Nearly 150 events were hosted across the capital - ranging from parties and meet-ups to executive breakfasts and conferences.
Speaking on the first day of the festival, Ed Vaizey, Minister for Culture, Communications and Creative Industries, took to the stage to talk about how the government is attempting to kick-start the UK’s economy by encouraging investment in technology start-ups based in Tech City - an area of east London that the government hopes will one day emulate Silicon Valley in the States.
With the number of technology firms in Tech City tripling in the last 12 months to more than 600, it’s easy to see why the area is getting so much attention. Admittedly, many of those companies are still in the start-up stage, but with the government pledging to support east London’s bid to become one of the world's great technology centres, they won’t stay small for long.
Just recently, we unveiled an ‘innovation lab’ near Shoreditch High Street. The new lab, in partnership with start-up incubator, THECUBE, will give local businesses access to the technology and super-fast connectivity that they need to test and develop new products and services. And since the new connection is powered by Big Red Internet, THECUBE’s tech start-ups will never be constrained by a lack of bandwidth.
What are your thoughts on London’s Tech City? Do you think it’s capable of rivalling Silicon Valley in the future? How soon do you think it’ll be before we see a home-grown Twitter or Google emerge.
