Openreach demonstrates ultrafast broadband to Minister in London Borough of Croydon
More than 650 homes in Coulsdon set to benefit from ultrafast broadband
Housing and Planning Minister, Gavin Barwell, was given a unique insight into the latest ultrafast broadband technology by one of the UK’s leading telecoms industry executives when he visited a new homes development in Coulsdon.
Clive Selley, chief executive of Openreach, BT’s local network business, discussed with the Minister how the technology works and the opportunities it offers for the local community’s economic future. An engineer demonstrated a fibre optic cable installation at the new homes development in Cane Hill Park.
The latest Fibre to the Premises (FTTP) broadband technology, which is capable of delivering speeds up to 1Gbps, is set to benefit more than 650 homes in the development.
Gavin Barwell, housing and planning minister, said: “It was great to see new homes that we desperately need provided by Barratt, and David Wilson, at Cane Hill and to see how Openreach are using the latest technology to ensure these homes have ultrafast broadband connectivity."
Clive Selley, chief executive of Openreach, said: “It’s great to see that Cane Hill Park is the latest community to gain access to our ultrafast FTTP network – which is the largest of its kind in the UK. We are committed to making the UK an ultrafast nation, enabled by the new efficient methods now developed to roll-out FTTP.”
David Thomas, chief executive of Barratt Developments, said: “We’re pleased that the latest broadband technology from Openreach is being installed into our Cane Hill Park development. It will mean 675 top quality new homes will be able to enjoy download speeds of up to 1gbps. It further shows the benefits of the high speed network which is currently being installed in London and further afield.”
Independent data from thinkbroadband shows that 97 per cent of home and businesses in the London borough of Croydon already have access to superfast broadband speeds of 24Mbps and above, whilst Openreach has announced that it will make fibre available for a further 360,000 homes and businesses in London by the end of 2017.The rollout will take availability of fibre optic services for London homes and small businesses** beyond the current coverage of over 95% of London’s premises***.
The high-speed wholesale network installed by Openreach is available to all companies to use under the same prices, terms and conditions – allowing them to offer fibre broadband services to local households and businesses, who in turn will benefit from competitive pricing and products.
Ultrafast FTTP broadband gives users the ability to run multiple bandwidth-hungry applications at the same time, such as sending and receiving large amounts of data, much more quickly and efficiently.
For local businesses, the new ultrafast fibre broadband network underpins the introduction of many new services and applications. Big business applications driven by new ‘cloud computing’ services are within reach of enterprises of all sizes. Computer back up, storage and processing is faster, and the use of high-quality videoconferencing becomes viable.
Notes to Editors:
** Every business property in London can already access “Ethernet” – ultrafast high-capacity broadband over tailor-made lines. This announcement concerns fibre optic connections for households and smaller businesses.
***The 95% estimate is sourced from independent website thinkbroadband, using Ofcom and other information and pertains to overall coverage across both Openreach and other networks.
