Villagers around Pattishall, Northamptonshire, the latest to benefit from broadband work
More homes and businesses in Northamptonshire are getting fibre broadband as independent figures show 94 per cent[1] of premises in the county can now get superfast download speeds.
Numbers are increasing weekly thanks to Northamptonshire County Council’s Superfast Northamptonshire broadband partnership with BT - with Pattishall and other villages nearby being some of the latest to benefit.
One of those already signed up is local resident Josie Bateman. “I live with my husband in a small village near Pattishall and we’ve always struggled with slow broadband speeds,” she said. “I knew our village was part of the Superfast Northamptonshire rollout so kept checking their website for progress. Once it was showing fibre broadband as available, I followed the advice on the ‘get connected’ page about how to choose the best package and actually managed to get a cheaper deal than before.
“Fibre broadband makes a huge difference and has opened up a whole new world of live TV and streaming that we couldn’t dream of before. We can also both go online at the same time, previously one of us had to switch our device off before the other one started browsing or everything would grind to a halt.
“It also allows me to work a couple of days a week from home which I find really productive. My job often involves working with large amounts of online data so having a quick and reliable connection is really important.”
Faster download speeds are available in and around Pattishall as part of the multi-million pound rollout of fibre broadband by BT and Northamptonshire County Council.
So far, more than 71,200 homes and businesses have benefitted from this work. And because work is carried out by Openreach, BT’s local network business, residents can choose from a wide range of broadband providers, and benefit from competitive pricing and choice.
Cllr Ian Morris, county council cabinet member with responsibility for broadband, said: “Often when people are buying a new home one of the first questions they ask is about broadband speeds as a good connection is almost essential for the way we live our lives today.
“This is important in rural areas for many reasons. It means people can work from home more readily, which helps cut down on road congestion and also helps mitigate against rural isolation.
“Having a county with excellent broadband infrastructure is essential if we want to be able to compete economically with other areas.”
Steve Henderson, BT’s regional director for next generation access, said: “Fibre broadband creates many opportunities for flexible working. This can be can lead to increased productivity, reduced costs and because it’s seen as making a positive contribution to work-life balance, it can make it easier for businesses to attract and retain the best workers.”
Fibre broadband helps make everything happen online much faster than a standard broadband connection.The main fibre broadband technology being rolled out for the project by BT typically offers download speeds of up to 80Mbps.
To get the benefits of superfast broadband, residents and businesses should contact their internet service provider and enquire about an upgrade – as customers do not automatically get faster broadband once fibre broadband is available locally.
To find out more about broadband plans in the county visit www.superfastnorthamptonshire.net.The website includes a Roll Out Schedule and the latest newsletter is available on the Find Out More section.
[1] 94% according to thinkbroadband.com – includes work carried out by the Superfast Northamptonshire programme as well as commercial rollouts including BT’s.
