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Isle of Wight lists superfast broadband targets for BT

The Isle of Wight Council has managed to get BT to agree to a list of conditions to roll out superfast broadband on the island. 

The local authority said following the acceptance of its list of demand by the telco it would now be mobilising resources to rollout the rural superfast broadband project. 

Among the conditions BT has to meet are; a joint investment of £6.4 million to deploy superfast broadband across the intervention area on the Island, a £1.2 million Innovation Fund under the control of the council and 99 per cent of premises across the Island to have NGA (Next Generation Access) infrastructure deployed by September 2015. 

Fibre to the Cider: 99 per cent of the Isle of Wight will be able to connect to BT’s fibre-based broadband by 2015

Read Recombu Digital’s guide to Rural BroadbandThe Isle of Wight Council said that it also wanted all premises across the island to have a minimum of 2Mbps broadband speeds and 97 per cent of premises in the intervention area to have an NGA connection (at least 30Mbps) post project. 

It also said the 96 per cent of all premises on the Isle of Wight should have immediate access to superfast broadband speeds (at least 24Mbps) post project. 

The local authority said it wanted to ensure that a “robust protocol” was in place between it and BT to ensure that highways are not dug up twice (or more) to provide for cost savings. 

A spokesman for the authority told local publication On The Wight that “planning and survey works have commenced and the first cabinets are expected to be installed in July next year. Works are due to be completed by September 2015.” 

As reported by Recombu, The council voted in September in favour of giving BT a contract which would see 99 per cent of the island getting connected to superfast broadband by September 2015. 

Image: Andy Roberts/Flickr

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