Superfast Telford makes light work of bringing faster fibre broadband to Lightmoor

Hundreds of households in one of Telford & Wrekin’s newest communities will be able to enjoy the benefits of new fibre broadband technology around nine months earlier than expected thanks to the £5.6 million Superfast Telford partnership.

Around 400 premises in Lightmoor Village will be able to upgrade to high-speed fibre broadband from the autumn, lead partners Telford & Wrekin Council and BT announced today.

Close collaboration and the pace of the roll-out have enabled the work to progress more quickly than originally planned.

Councillor Angela McClements, cabinet member for Neighbourhood Services, said: “This is great news that we’ll be able to get a very significant number of homes in Lightmoor connected to superfast fibre broadband much earlier than expected.

“We’re also looking to ensuring that all homes in the Lightmoor area will have access to a superfast service – that’s important for this fast-growing community.

“At the same time, the Superfast Telford partnership is continuing to work to find a solution for the two per cent of homes and businesses in the borough that are not currently due to receive fibre broadband from our roll-out or any commercial delivery.”

Colin Bannon, BT’s regional director for the West Midlands, said: “Our project teams are making great progress completing some works faster than expected, allowing us to accelerate the roll-out.

“We’re particularly pleased to be able to bring the technology to parts of Lightmoor earlier than originally planned because we know from the feedback we have received how keen local people are to have access to faster fibre broadband.

“Whether it’s families wanting to connect more than one device to the internet at the same time, or people wanting to work from home – everything is easier, better and faster with fibre broadband.”

Engineers from Openreach – BT’s local network business – are installing two new fibre broadband cabinets, which are needed to enable households and businesses in the Lightmoor Village area to connect to the main fibre optic network. Upgrade work will continue to enable even more new properties being built to access the technology.

Superfast Telford, which is part of the Government’s Broadband Delivery UK (BDUK) programme, began connecting the first homes and businesses just before Christmas. The roll-out has already seen 1,900 properties in the borough now able to access faster fibre broadband.

By the end of 2017, this figure will rise to around 9,300 households and businesses, with 8,800 of them able to access ‘superfast’ download speeds of 24 megabits (Mbps) and above.

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.

All the latest information on the programme can be found on the partnership’s website – www.superfast-telford.co.uk – including a map searchable by postcode where people can sign up to receive the latest updates.

Note to news editors:

* These are the top wholesale speeds available from Openreach to all service providers; speeds offered by service providers may vary.

Ends

Further information for the media is available from:

Russell Griffin, Public Relations Team Leader, Telford & Wrekin Council on 01952 382407, or email russell.griffin@telford.gov.uk

Or

Emma Tennant at the BT regional press office on 0800 085 0660 or email: emma.tennant@bt.comTwitter:@EmmaTennantBT

All BT news releases can be accessed at our web site: www.btplc.com

About Telford & Wrekin

Telford & Wrekin Council is a unitary authority with 170,300 residents. It is a mix of historic market towns, New Town Estates and rural villages. It has a purpose built town centre that is currently undergoing a £250m regeneration.

It is also the birthplace of the industrial revolution and home to the world’s first Iron Bridge in the Ironbridge Gorge World Heritage Site.

We are a business winning and business supporting local authority and are proud that we represent the fastest growing town in the Midlands. Telford has excellent transport links, congestion-free roads and plenty of available land and office space. Talk to us on Twitter @TelfordWrekin and Facebook.

About Superfast Britain

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 BT

BT’s purpose is to use the power of communications to make a better world. It is one of the world’s leading providers of communications services and solutions, serving customers in 180 countries. Its principal activities include the provision of networked IT services globally; local, national and international telecommunications services to its customers for use at home, at work and on the move; broadband, TV and internet products and services; and converged fixed-mobile products and services.BT consists of six customer-facing lines of business: Global Services, Business and Public Sector, Consumer, EE, Wholesale and Ventures, and Openreach.

For the year ended 31 March 2016, BT Group’s reported revenue was £19,042m with reported profit before taxation of £3,029m.

British Telecommunications plc (BT) is a wholly-owned subsidiary of BT Group plc and encompasses virtually all businesses and assets of the BT Group. BT Group plc is listed on stock exchanges in London and New York.

For more information, visit www.btplc.com