Birmingham is the latest UK city to benefit from BT’s new digital street units, with the first three units unveiled in Sutton Coldfield recently, and more to follow across the city over the next few months.
As part of the launch, local businesses in Birmingham are being given the chance to advertise for free on the new Street Hub units.
BT is donating up to £7.5 million of outdoor advertising space to small businesses across the UK, as it continues its nationwide roll out of its new Street Hub 2.0 units – which help build the UK’s digital infrastructure and include services such as ultrafast Wi-Fi, an emergency call button and rapid mobile device charging.
The launch comes as a recent BT study found that more than 60 per cent of small businesses agree that local advertising would help to increase awareness of their business, with 40 per cent saying it would encourage more people to shop at their local high street. However, almost half (49 per cent) said that cost was a major obstacle to them investing in local Out Of Home (OOH) advertising. BT is now taking action to remove one of the biggest barriers to adoption, with the Street Hub’s digital advertising screens designed to help small firms attract more customers to high streets.
The new digital units can also help local councils achieve their social and economic improvement and sustainability goals. With Birmingham City Council aiming to be carbon neutral by 2030, each Street Hub 2.0 unit is to be fitted with air quality and CO2 sensors.
Birmingham participated in the first trials of air quality data monitoring with BT in 2019, with data collected from modular sensors installed on first generation Street Hubs units. The sensors provided insight to a group of researchers and scientists, led by the University of Birmingham, to help monitor air pollution in the area.
With the next generation Street Hubs, Birmingham City Council can benefit from real-time, actionable data on Carbon Monoxide (CO), Carbon Dioxide (CO2), Nitrogen Oxide (NO), Nitrogen Dioxide (NO2) and Particulate Matter (PM1, 2.5 and 10). Expanding air quality monitoring across the city will provide Birmingham City Council with the insight needed to take action to improve air quality, contributing to the health and wellbeing of local people.
Street Hubs can also help to enhance digital connectivity and services for communities through features such as ultrafast Wi-Fi, access to charity helplines, and local wayfinding via an integrated tablet.
Rebecca Hambleton, Street Manager at BT
We hope that, by gifting free digital advertising space via our new Street Hub units, we can give small businesses in Birmingham an extra boost. Our new Street Hub units can play a vital role in rejuvenating local high streets – whether that’s through building greater awareness of small businesses through free advertising, boosting local digital infrastructure or helping cities to reach their sustainability goals.
