Onlincolnshire celebrates its first anniversary
More than 13,900 more homes and businesses can now access fibre broadband, as the onlincolnshire project reaches the end of a successful first year.
Communities in Moulton, Pinchbeck Bars, Moulton Chapel, Donington, Risegate, Surfleet, parts of Holbeach and Saxilby* are the latest to benefit from the multi-million pound partnership between Lincolnshire councils and BT with additional funding from the Government and European Regional Development Fund.
Building upon the existing commercial roll-out by the private sector in the county, the ambitious project aims to provide at least 89 per cent of all properties with access to superfast fibre broadband by April 2016. Additionally, for the first time ever standard broadband of at least 2Mbps should be available everywhere in Lincolnshire.
Councillor Richard Davies, Executive Member for IT at Lincolnshire County Council, said: “I'm delighted we've been able to bring better broadband to so many homes and businesses already.
"And as the roll-out gets into full swing over the next year, we'll see that number rapidly increase, with an average of around 5,000 extra premises getting access to improved speeds every month.
"Better broadband will bring countless opportunities for local businesses, and we'll continue to provide support so they can make the most of all that superfast speeds have to offer.
"These improvements will also give residents access to an ever increasing range of digital services, helping them do even more online.
"And with the additional money recently pledged by the Government, we should eventually be able to extend superfast coverage to at least 95 per cent of the county, meaning even more people will benefit."
Owen Moody, BT’s regional director for the East Midlands, added: “The project is making excellent progress and it’s great to see more Lincolnshire homes and businesses able to take advantage of this transformational technology.
"This is a complex project but thanks to the dedication and hard work within BT and the councils our efforts are now really starting to pay off.”
So far, more than 150km of new fibre broadband infrastructure has been laid by engineers from Openreach, BT’s local network division, to bring the new services to the county.
The high-speed network installed will be available on an equal, wholesale basis to all companies providing broadband services to homes and businesses. To get better speeds, people in these upgraded areas should contact their broadband provider to check for availability and change their contract.
For further details on the project and to find out initial information on what's planned for each area, please visit www.onlincolnshire.org . Details may be subject to change.
Onlincolnshire builds on the commercial fibre broadband roll-out by the private sector, which has already made the high-speed technology available to 166,000 homes and businesses in the county.
ENDS
Notes to Editor
*It is likely that some premises within these areas will not be able to access fibre-based broadband initially. Alternative solutions are being investigated for these locations.
About Superfast Britain
Superfast Britain is a Government programme of investment in broadband and communication infrastructure across the UK. Run by the Department of 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:
• £780m to extend superfast broadband to 95% of the UK by 2017
• £150m to provide high speed broadband to businesses in 22 cities
• £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 the European Regional Development Fund
The European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) was set up in 1975 to stimulate economic development in less prosperous regions of the European Union. ERDF is provided to support the European Union’s cohesion policy that seeks to redress imbalances in development between regions and Member States. It is used to support projects that can help local economies address the challenges of globalisation and contribute to delivering Europe’s 2020 strategy of smart, sustainable and inclusive growth.
Information about the European Union’s support for regions is available at http://ec.europa.eu/regional_policy/index_en.htm
