They say the summer is the best time for building infrastructure, with dry days perfect for outdoor work. This summer might prove a struggle for fibre-digging, if it continues in its grey and drippy style, but BT Openreach has still been busy, and that’s bright news for every home passed!
Welcome to Broadband Rollout Roundup for June 15, 2012.
Fibre lights up for 190,000 homes from Merseyside to Colchester
The BT Openreach elves have a hefty programme of plugging in fibre-optics this summer, and this week started turning on fibre near 190,000 homes across the UK.
From July 2, fibre in your area means that both fibre-to-the-cabinet and fibre-to-the-premises are potentially available.
We’ll be waiting with great excitement to see which UK broadband providers make the leap to selling direct fibre, but Openreach is offering some attractive rates.
These areas haven’t all been completely turned on yet, but will be completed over the next few weeks.
- Bedfordshire: Biggleswade and Stotfold, 10,000 homes and businesses
- Cornwall: Saltash, 7,000
- Derbyshire: Alfreton, Langley Mill and Ripley, 32,500
- East Anglia: Norwich Thorpe, Norwich West, Dereham, Gorleston, Caister on Sea and Thetford, 63,000
- Essex: Colchester East Bay, Basildon, Grays Thurrock, Thorpe Bay, Hawkwell and Shoeburyness, 60,000
- Merseyside: Waterloo, 17,000
Joe Benton, MP for Bootle, said: “This is great news from BT for Waterloo. Fast broadband is an essential tool for local businesses and I’ve no doubt it will be a catalyst for the creation of new jobs. It will also transform the lives of local families, whether they’re using the technology for social networking, entertainment or education.”
Cllr Richard Wenham, deputy executive member for corporate resources at Central Bedfordshire Council said: “I am delighted that BT has announced the upgrading of Stotfold and Biggleswade exchanges to offer superfast broadband.
“Rolling out superfast broadband in Central Bedfordshire is a priority for the Council and will have a number of major benefits for the area. It will mean improved access to services for our residents and strengthen the local economy through supporting local business resilience, growth and innovation.”
FTTC, where fibre is delivered to the street cabinet, offers download speeds of up to 80Mbps and upload speeds of up to 20Mbps. FTTP, where fibre runs all the way to homes and businesses, currently offers download speeds of 110Mbps and these are expected to be increased to 330Mbps from July 2.
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