Geoff,

In simple terms, Data Centres store data, for things like cloud storage or data back-up for large organisations etc. I don’t believe that they specifically improve broadband speed.

The IBM website defines a data centre as the below –

‘A data center is a physical room, building or facility that houses IT infrastructure for building, running, and delivering applications and services, and for storing and managing the data associated with those applications and services. Data centers have evolved in recent years from privately-owned, tightly-controlled on-premises facilities housing traditional IT infrastructure for the exclusive use of one company, to remote facilities or networks of facilities owned by cloud service providers housing virtualized IT infrastructure for the shared use of multiple companies and customers.’

Kind regards

Cllr John Tyler