History of the SWGfL Trust

The South West Grid for Learning was founded as one of 10 Regional Broadband Consortia (RBCs), which were borne out of the (then) DfES Regional Broadband initiative. As a consortium of South West Local Authorities, the organisation was established to deliver broadband internet connectivity and related services to schools throughout the South West of England, by harnessing the power of aggregated purchasing. One of the key benefits of such aggregation, which still lies at the heart of the consortia, was that of reduced costs and better value for money for schools and local authorities in the South West.

As a Regional Broadband consortium, we were part of the wider National Grid for Learning (NGfL) community; a group of organisations operating independently, with the common goal of realising the use broadband technology in education.

During 2003, the networks that the NGfL community created were joined together by high speed links via the JANET network, creating a single and secure private network, known as the National Education Network (NEN), when joined with the Broadband initiatives in Learning and Teaching Scotland, Welsh Assembly and the Northern Ireland Assembly. Today we are more commonly referred to as a NEN provider than a Regional Broadband Consortium.

In October 2005, the South West Grid for Learning Consortium became the South West Grid for Learning (SWGfL) Trust Ltd., when we were incorporated as a charitable, not for profit, private company limited by guarantee.

Our focus now is to build upon and improve the broadband infrastructure we have put into place; offer value-added services such as teaching and learning resources and e-safety advice and further reduce connectivity costs for our member Local Authorities.