Wiltshire broadband partnership celebrates 400th fibre broadband cabinet milestone
More than 70,000 households and businesses can now benefit from high-speed fibre broadband - with more to come in 2016
Four hundred superfast broadband cabinets are now live in Wiltshire and more than 70,000 homes and businesses can access high-speed fibre broadband thanks to the Wiltshire Online programme.
People in hundreds of areas up and down the county have seen superfast broadband ‘go live’ this year. These include Bishops Cannings, Coate, Ogbourne St Andrew, Collingbourne Ducis and many more besides.
The Wiltshire Online programme is a multi-million pound partnership between Wiltshire Council, BT and the Government’s Broadband Delivery UK programme to roll-out fibre broadband to the more rural parts of the county.Earlier this year, the partners announced that a second phase of the project will roll out with an additional £3.86m being invested in the programme. This phase of work, which will start next year, will see an extra 5,000 households and businesses in the county able to receive superfast fibre broadband.
John Thomson, Wiltshire Council cabinet member for broadband, said: “I am delighted with the progress of our project this year. I am sure people will be getting gadgets at Christmas that rely on a fast broadband connection and up and down the county we now have the infrastructure in place to support them.
“We’re still working hard on the project and more and more communities will be ‘going live’ next year which will allow residents and businesses to see for themselves the many benefits this service brings.”
Earlier this year Wiltshire was also named by the County Land and Business Association as one of the top 10 counties in England for running a rural business with digital connectivity playing a big part in its success.
Paul Coles, South West regional manager for BT, said: “This is an important milestone for Wiltshire that has been delivered thanks to the dedication of hundreds of engineers working hard on what is an incredibly challenging project.
“As the roll-out continues we will see more and more communities being able to realise the many benefits of receiving superfast broadband speeds.
“For those households and businesses that can already access superfast broadband, I would urge them to sign up with a service provider – why not make it your new year’s resolution?”
The programme to install fibre broadband is county wide and residents can visit Wiltshire Council’s Wiltshire Online website, which includes a postcode checker – simply entering their postcode into the checker to get an update on the progress of fibre broadband availability in their area. Residents can also visit www.wiltshireonline.org to find out more about volunteering opportunities or call 0300 456 0100.
