BT extends high-speed broadband reach
BIRMINGHAM City Council has welcomed BT’s announcement that it is to roll out high-speed broadband to 95,000 more businesses and homes next year.
The latest phase will take the total number for the West Midlands region to more than 1.2m premises.
Councillor James McKay, Birmingham City Council portfolio holder for green, safe and smart city, said: “This announcement by BT is great news as it provides another step towards ubiquitous access to next generation internet speeds across the city.
“Reliable, fast connections can make all the difference to education and business and give people much greater scope for interaction with the world around them.
“With their fibre to premise solution, I am pleased that BT is taking this opportunity to implement a truly future-proof solution that will provide ultra-fast broadband services in a similar way that we are proposing for our digital districts programme.
“Such an investment would put Birmingham at the heart of the global economy, bringing opportunities for citizens to engage and interact with services in new and innovative ways and make Birmingham the place to live, work and do business.”
The next places in the region to be upgraded are Aldridge in Walsall, Calthorpe (Edgbaston), Castle Bromwich, Druids Heath, Springfield and Woodgate in Birmingham, Cheylesmore in Coventry, Dunchurch in Warwickshire, Bridgnorth in Shropshire and Burslem, Stoke, Stone and Uttoxeter in Staffordshire.
The investment is part of a £2.5bn BT roll-out of fibre broadband across the UK. Recent research by Regeneris Consulting predicted that over the next 15 years BT’s fibre broadband could give the economy of a typical town a £143m boost, create 225 new jobs and 140 new start-up businesses.
John Dovey, BT’s regional director for the West Midlands, said: “The benefits are major and wide-ranging. As our new fibre network expands across the region, it also brings new potential for offering essential public services on-line and cost savings across all sectors.
“We want to help Birmingham achieve world-class digital connectivity and make sure the communities where we provide services and jobs remain vibrant, strong and connected.”
