Full speed ahead - Better broadband for Oxfordshire reaches more remote areas
Ashbury is first community in the Vale of the White Horse to benefit from second phase of ambitious roll-out
Around 230 Ashbury homes and business are now able to access faster fibre broadband as a result of the Better Broadband for Oxfordshire partnership, led by Oxfordshire County Council and BT as part of the Government’s Broadband Delivery UK programme.
Residents, local businesses and representatives from the partnership were in Ashbury on Friday (29 July) to celebrate the village becoming the first area of the district to benefit from the second phase of the roll-out, which is being co-funded by Vale of the White Horse District Council and the OxLEP (Oxfordshire Local Enterprise Partnership).
Oxfordshire County Councillor, Nick Carter, said: “With Oxfordshire firmly over the 90 per cent superfast coverage target, it is good news the programme is now reaching even more premises, as is happening today in Ashbury. This important phase of delivery is extending fibre broadband coverage into the most rural parts of the county and we look forward to reaching over 95 per cent of households and businesses across Oxfordshire by the end of next year.”
The arrival of faster fibre broadband was welcomed by Neil Hislop, co-owner of the Rose and Crown Inn, Ashbury who said: “Customers nowadays expect to be able to get online when out and about, and it’s great news we can now offer that to people in our pub, restaurant or staying at the Inn. All of our customers will be able to benefit and use apps like Facebook, Skype and media streaming services. But in particular, we think it’ll really benefit our business visitors who are working away from home. Not only will it allow them to work in their rooms or around the Inn during their stay, but it’ll also make it far easier for them to stay in touch with family and friends, which is obviously very important.”
Paul Bimson, BT’s regional partnership director, said: “Whether it’s families wanting to connect more than one device to the internet at the same time, or people working from home – everything is easier, better and faster with fibre broadband, which is why it’s so important that our roll-out is reaching some of the most remote parts of Oxfordshire.”
“When combined with BT’s own investment, the total number of premises in Oxfordshire able to access fibre broadband is more than 275,000.”
As the Openreach network is open to all communications providers, local households opting for an upgrade will be able to order fibre broadband with download speeds of up to 80Mbps and uploads of up to 20Mbps* from a wide range ofservice providers.
Residents and businesses can follow the progress of the roll-out via the project website: http://www.betterbroadbandoxfordshire.org.uk
