Telford’s superfast broadband ahead of schedule
TELFORD’S roll out of superfast fibre broadband is ahead of schedule with the new technology already available to more than 1,000 households and businesses in Dawley and Oakengates.
Lead partners Telford & Wrekin Council and BT said the milestone came just a year after the £5.6m programme was announced and only three months after it started connecting the first premises to faster fibre broadband.
Cllr Shaun Davies, Telford & Wrekin Council’s cabinet member for Customer Services and Business, said: “It is fantastic news how quickly the project is progressing with residents and businesses in the first communities receiving the new technology ahead of schedule.”
Bill Murphy, BT’s managing director of next generation access, said: “Superfast Telford is an excellent example of the public and private sectors working effectively together for the good of the local community.
“As a result of this, especially at the early planning stages of this project, we’ve been able to bring the benefits of faster fibre broadband to more households and businesses earlier than originally planned.”
By the end of 2017, around 9,300 homes and businesses will be able to get the faster service, with 8,800 able to access download speeds of 24 megabits (Mbps) and above.
When combined with the private sector’s commercial investment, it means 98% of homes and businesses in the borough will be able to access high-speed fibre broadband by the end of next year.
The network, which is being installed by Openreach – BT’s local network business, will enable people to choose from a wide range of broadband service providers.
