09
December
2016
|
08:20
Europe/London

Fibre broadband more popular than ever in Lincolnshire

Summary
The number of people signing up for high-speed fibre broadband has doubled in the last 18 months, thanks to Onlincolnshire.

The number of people signing up for high-speed fibre broadband has doubled in the last 18 months, thanks to Onlincolnshire.

Figures from BT, which is working with Lincolnshire County Council to make fibre broadband available in rural areas, show more than 34 per cent of homes and businesses in the Onlincolnshire roll-out area have already signed up. It compares to 17 per cent in mid-2015.

The multi-million pound partnership has now made the technology available to more than 150,000 premises in dozens of small, rural communities across the county – from Uffington in the south of the county to Marshchapel on the east coast.

Onlincolnshire is now starting another phase of improvements, investing a further £11.6m to extend superfast coverage in the county to almost 97 per cent by the end of 2017.

Cllr Richard Davies, executive member for IT at Lincolnshire County Council, said: "We're seeing a real increase in the number of people signing up for superfast broadband, and with the improvements being rolled out, even more will be able to benefit.

“Improved broadband is not only vital for business growth, but for all residents accessing services, including the growing number of silver surfers, and for young people wanting to download learning materials. The possibilities are endless.

"So check www.onlincolnshire.org to find out whether you're in a superfast area, and contact your internet service provider to upgrade your package."

Since work started in 2013, engineers from Openreach, BT’s local network business, have laid more than 500 kilometres of new fibre cable while around 800 green roadside fibre cabinets have been installed.

Steve Henderson, BT’s regional director for next generation access, said: “We are making great progress across Lincolnshire and our partnership with the county council is working really well. Being able to access faster download speeds is more important than ever and fibre broadband really does have the ability to transform the way people and businesses use the internet. It’s great we’ve already reached 150,000 premises, rising to over 315,000 when you include BT’s own commercial rollout, but the good news is there’s more to come.”

The programme is led by Lincolnshire County Council, with BT investing more than £10 million into the partnership. Other funding partners include the UK Government through Broadband Delivery UK (BDUK), local authorities and the European Regional Development Fund.

All of the engineering work for Onlincolnshire is being carried out by Openreach so people with access to fibre broadband can choose from a wide range of internet service providers and benefit from competitive pricing and products.

According to the independent thinkbroadband.com website, around 89 per cent of Lincolnshire premises can now access a broadband speed of 24Mbps or above. This figure is expected to rise to around 97 per cent in the coming years.

For the latest news on the onlincolnshire project, visit www.onlincolnshire.org.