He’s a self-confessed technology buff who’s helping to bring the digital revolution to businesses across Kirklees.

Neil Aspin is area sales executive for CityFibre, the infrastructure provider which is building a 72km ultrafast, pure fibre network – called Kirklees CORE – to serve the district’s business community with future-proof internet connectivity.

It’s a major project with potentially far-reaching benefits for businesses across the district, says Neil.

Kirklees CORE is an investment in gigabit technology that will help turn the notion of the Northern Powerhouse into reality.

“We are bringing the next generation of connectivity to Kirklees,” says Neil. “It will be an enabler to help customers and businesses to get the most out of technology and maximise the benefits. It will help them do what they already do even better.”

As area representative, Neil’s role is to get out and about to talk to businesses and understand their needs. “I need to know what they are looking for from better connectivity – and make sure the CityFibre product meets those needs.”

Businesses engaged in that conversation include ones in the creative industries who are struggling to achieve their goals because they are having to use “old telephone systems”.

Says Neil: “As a result, there is a knock-on effect through the supply chain. If a company’s employees can work more productively, if staff can work from home, if they can simplify their IT systems and use the many Cloud products that are available they can generate savings in a lot of different areas.”

Neil is well-suited to his job. “My background is technology,” he says. “I’m a self-confessed IT enthusiast and have been ever since I got my first computer in the 1990s.”

Neil grew up in Pudsey and at school studied the three sciences of physics, chemistry and biology at A-level. “I decided not to go to university having done quite a lot of academic stuff,” he says. “I wanted to move straight into the world of work and get a bit of money behind me!”

He worked for O2 in the mobile phones industry before moving into media and marketing with publications such as Autotrader magazine and BT Phone Books. That was the start of a career with BT which coincided with the upsurge of the internet.

“We started to see an ‘explosion’ with the use of internet search engines and the decline in paper-based directories.” he recalls. “The big old dusty Yellow Pages that used to sit under the telephone table went in the bin.”

Neil went on to be an account manager in BT’s telephones business based at offices in Leeds.

His role involved explaining the emerging internet-based technology and how customers who had not changed their phone system for 20 years could make savings and benefit from improved products.

After six years with BT, Neil joined Blue Logic, an IT support company based in Leeds. His job took him all over Yorkshire – with the same aim of helping to make a difference for the customer.

But he says: “The same problem kept coming up – that internet connectivity wasn’t good enough. It became a recurring story. One large company was based four or five miles outside the town centre and their broadband speed was diabolical. The old service is copper-based. The longer the cable gets, the weaker the connectivity.”

CityFibre is aiming to provide the solution to that kind of problem with pure-fibre replacing copper. “If you can guarantee that connectivity, all the doors that were previously closed are open to you,” says Neil.

“We want to show that Kirklees is the place to connect your business. You don’t have to go to Leeds city centre to get ultra-fast services.

“If you can send a file ‘down the line’ in 10 seconds when it previously took 15 minutes, how much more productive can you be? You can work at the speed you want without having to worry about it.”

Says Neil: “It’s the ‘technology of things’ Everything is going to be internet-ready and connected.”

At CityFibre, Neil is based in Huddersfield’s impressive 3M Buckley Innovation Centre. “There are a lot of forward-thinking companies here,” he says.

Neil Aspin of City Fibre, 3M Buckley Innovation Centre, University of Huddersfield.

To progress the Kirklees CORE programme, CityFibre is working with Brighouse-based telecoms business Abzorb and Kirklees Council.

“We have a very forward-thinking council,” says Neil. “The council has already connected 136 Kirklees sites, including schools.”

The programme of development is demand-led – meaning the size and route the network takes will be determined by demand from local businesses who are encouraged to register their interest.

A Government-backed scheme offers vouchers of up to £3,000 to help SMEs cover the cost of connection.

Says Neil: “We need businesses to let us know what they want – to register and engage in a conversation.

“They need to help us understand the Kirklees area and what Kirklees requires.

“We are building a well-planned system for Kirklees to deliver the services they need.”

CityFibre already has networks in Hull, Aberdeen, Coventry and Peterborough. But nationally, there is much more for the industry to do.

“We are nowhere near the rest of Europe in terms of fibre penetration,” says Neil.

“It is huge in places like America. Now we are bringing the same gigabit speeds to Kirklees. It is phenomenally quicker.”

Commenting on his role at CityFibre, Neil says. “It’s not a hard sell. The product is great and people understand whether their business is at a stage that requires hyperfast connectivity.

“I’m doing a lot of networking at the moment. We are dealing with a range of businesses – food manufacturers, designers, photography studios and a lot of cutting-edge businesses trading on an international level.”

Any spare time Neil gets at home in New Farnley, Leeds, he tends to spend with partner Karen and daughter Isla.

“I have a two-and-a-half-year-old daughter and I spend my time with her,” says Neil.

“I’m into food and films and watching motorsport on television. I’m also into football when it means getting behind the England team!”

Neil Aspin

Role: Area sales exectuive

Age: 36

Family: Partner Karen and two-and-a-half-year-old daughter Isla

Holidays: Anywhere in the Med! We also like city breaks and have been to Edinburgh, Amsterdam and Barcelona

Car: BMW 330

First job: Working at McDonald’s in Briggate, Leeds. I did a few night shifts, which were interesting

Best thing about the job? The interaction. I like talking about technology, but putting it in terms people can understand. It’s very easy to get into three-letter acronyms, but people aren’t going to buy from you if you do!

Worst thing about the job? Sitting in the car at 7.30 on a Monday morning with a sea of red lights in front of me

Business tip: Don’t let yesterday take up too much of today!

CityFibre

Work: Building and operating ultrafast pure fibre networks

Site: 3M Buckley Innovation Centre, Firth Street, Hudersfield

Phone: 07885 367315

Email: neil.aspin@cityfibre.com

Web: www.kirkleescore.com