Ex-armed forces team joins the Lincolnshire fibre challenge
Former Army, Navy and RAF personnel are set to take up the challenge of meeting the soaring demand for high-speed fibre broadband services in Lincolnshire.
A 16-strong team of new recruits, who all previously served in the armed forces, has recently completed a comprehensive training programme with BT’s local network business, Openreach – just in time for the roll out of fast, affordable fibre broadband under the onlincolnshire project.
The project is a multi-million pound partnership between BT, the county council and the government’s Broadband Delivery UK programme, which aims to ensure that at least 89 per cent of Lincolnshire premises have access to fibre broadband by April 2016.
It builds on BT’s commercial roll-out of fibre broadband, which has already made the high-speed technology available to more than 166,000 homes and businesses in the county.
Bill Murphy, managing director, Next Generation Access for BT added: “This is great news for Lincolnshire. We’re already seeing the positive impact that faster, fibre broadband is having on businesses and residents in the county and now, thanks to this partnership, the benefits will be felt even wider, helping boost the local economy.
Councillor Richard Davies, executive member for IT at Lincolnshire County Council, added:
"This project is going to mean new jobs across the county. And we're not just talking about the workers needed to make the improvements – local businesses will undoubtedly start taking people on as they grasp the opportunities better broadband brings. It's that kind of economic boost that makes superfast broadband essential to the county."
The team will be led by Steve Pentecost, who has 30 years of service with the RAF himself. Steve joined Openreach in 2011 and is based in Stamford.
Steve said: “The team came together as part of an Openreach pledge made in 2011 to recruit ex-military people after they left the forces. I joined Openreach then and progressed through the business as I hope many of this team will do.
“Like me, most of the recruits already had a telecoms and technical background with the armed forces, so it was a natural transition to move into this type of work.
“We are proud to be delivering this high-speed technology right across the county. It’s a great job, varied and very rewarding”
For further details on the planned improvements, please visit www.onlincolnshire.org .
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Notes to Editor
About onlincolnshire
The county council-led project will see BT build on the existing telecoms infrastructure in the county so that at least 89 per cent of all premises should have access to high-speed fibre broadband by April 2016. Lincolnshire Council is aiming for everyone else to have access to at least 2Mbps broadband. For the first time ever, broadband should be available everywhere in Lincolnshire.
The project, which is part of the government’s Broadband Delivery UK (BDUK) programme, will see more than £48 million of public and private sector money invested in improving the county’s broadband infrastructure. The cash includes £11.2 million from the county council, £4 million from district authorities, £14.3 million from national government and £18.8 million from BT.
For residents of the county they will be able to stream HD movies, download music in seconds, play online games and keep in touch with friends and family via video calls. Businesses too will benefit from improved efficiency, better connections with customers and exposure to an expanding global market.
