A NEW government deal is set to place Wales at the forefront of superfast Internet use in schools, libraries and adult education centres.

Two companies, Welsh Networking and Logical (UK), have been commissioned by the National Assembly to provide the network.

Phase two of the project will involve the development of local authority networks so that schools, libraries and ICT learning centres link into the core network. Assembly funding is being made available from the next financial year to assist local authorities.

Economic development minister Andrew Davies said that ensuring Wales had a first-class information and communication technology (ICT) infrastructure in place was a top priority for the National Assembly.

"The agreement marks the start of work to roll out broadband services to every school, library and lifelong learning centre in Wales," he said.

"This contract, worth over £14 million, is the most significant cash injection in broadband made by any government in the UK and shows how Wales is leading the way.

"The investment will help us achieve the main targets of the Assembly's ICT strategy, Cymru Ar-lein, and will put us ahead of other areas of the UK in bringing broadband within the reach of people.

"It is vital that Wales grasps the opportunities for greater access to training and jobs that ICT can bring. Around the world, ICT has been a key factor in transforming the economies of countries and we want to see the same transformation here."

Education minister Jane Davidson said: "This investment will place broadband access at the heart of the learning infrastructure in Wales - in primary, secondary, special education and ICT Learning Centres. The use of ICT and e-learning is central to the Assembly's agenda for raising standards in schools and is crucial for Wales' future."

Welsh Networking chief executive David Harrison said: "Large-scale infrastructure projects that have the capacity to make a real social difference come along only once in a while.

"WNL is proud to have been asked by the National Assembly to procure and operate this network. It will be a challenge to us, building upon our expertise in delivering high bandwidth networking to higher and further education colleges, to extend this to other parts of the lifelong learning sector.

"The creation of this network will also allow companies and business parks who are working closely with the higher and further education communities, to benefit from improved connectivity to partner institutions, each other and to the Internet."

Alex Black, managing director of Logical UK, which has been contracted to design, build and deploy the network, said: "This represents another significant win for Logical in the deployment and management of large scale high-performance networks. It highlights our expertise in delivering a network from design right through to providing a fully integrated managed service."