High-speed fibre broadband boost for Oxfordshire village
Weston-on-the-Green becomes next community to benefit from Better Broadband for Oxfordshire;
Better Broadband for Oxfordshire exceeds 10,000 properties milestone since engineering work began in December 2013;
Village to celebrate with community event
Residents and businesses in Weston-on-the-Green are set to receive a broadband boost as they become the latest village to benefit from the Better Broadband for Oxfordshire programme.
Better Broadband for Oxfordshire is a multi-million pound partnership between Oxfordshire County Council, BT and BDUK.
By switching on the cabinet in Weston-on-the-Green the programme will also reach the important milestone of enabling 10,000 properties across the county to access fibre-based broadband. The programme is on track to enable 90 per cent of the county to access superfast broadband by the end of 2015, transforming life for residents and businesses.
A special community event has been organised with the village to mark the important milestone. Openreach engineers, Oxfordshire County Council’s project team and local councillors will all be on hand to answer questions about how to order fibre-based broadband, how it is being deployed in the village and across the county, and what better broadband can do to transform work or home life.
Ted James, General Manager at The Manor Hotel, Weston-on-the-Green, is very excited about the possibilities of superfast broadband: “We have always struggled to offer modern amenities such as Wi-Fi to our guests but now we will have the bandwidth to be able to offer this. It is wonderful to have a village as a remote as ours to receive this fantastic technology, this will bring great benefit to everyone in the village, not just the businesses.”
Councillor Nick Carter, Cabinet Member for Business & Customer Services at Oxfordshire County Council is very pleased with the developments: “We are delighted that the rollout is gaining pace and that we have passed this milestone on the way to our ultimate target of almost 65,000 premises. With one of the most rural counties in the south, it is vital that this work is done, the benefits of which will be felt by all, whether it be families or businesses, allowing for greater levels of communication and flexibility across the county.”
Bill Murphy, managing director for next generation access at BT, said: “This is an exciting time for Oxfordshire. The Better Broadband for Oxfordshire partnership is spreading its wings reaching more and more communities that have so far been beyond the reach of high-speed broadband. In today’s digitally interconnected world this fibre broadband infrastructure is seen as important as having access to electricity and running water, especially in rural communities such as Weston on the Green. The opportunities offered by this technology are immense. Whatever you do online you can do it better with fibre broadband.”
The new cabinet means around 250 homes and businesses in the area can now order fibre broadband with most able to achieve superfast speeds of at least 24mbps. As part of the Better Broadband for Oxfordshire programme, Openreach, BT’s local network business, has laid 497 kilometres of cabling and installed 56 broadband street cabinets and a further 92 are standing and in the process of being connected.
To find out more about the programme please visit www.betterbroadbandoxfordshire.org.uk.
Ends
Notes to editors:
About Better Broadband for Oxfordshire:
Better Broadband for Oxfordshire is a partnership between Oxfordshire County Council, BT and BDUK that sees £25m being invested into Oxfordshire’s broadband network over the life of the proiect. Oxfordshire County Council is investing £10 million in the programme, with £4 million from Government (Broadband Delivery UK) and £11 million from BT.
The Better Broadband for Oxfordshire programme will make superfast broadband available to more than 64,000 homes and businesses across the county by the end of 2015, and ensure everyone in the county can access a minimum of 2Mbps.
About BDUK
Superfast Britain is a Government programme of investment in broadband and communication infrastructure across the UK. Run by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport, this investment helps businesses to grow, creates jobs and will make Britain more competitive in the global race. The portfolio is comprised of three elements:
• £790m to extend superfast broadband to 95% of the UK by 2017;
• £150m to provide high speed broadband to businesses in 22 cities; and
• £150m to improve quality and coverage of mobile phone and basic data network services.
Administered on behalf of Government by Broadband Delivery UK (BDUK), Superfast Britain is transforming Britain by promoting growth, enabling skills and learning, and improving quality of life.
For further information: https://www.gov.uk/broadband-delivery-uk
About Openreach
Openreach is responsible for the last mile of the UK access network – the copper wires and fibre connecting homes and businesses to their local telephone exchanges. Openreach provides communications providers with services and products associated with that network.
