Broadband upgrades welcomed by Shropshire Council

Shropshire Council has welcomed the latest investment in the county’s broadband network, but says there is still lots of work to be done. 

BT has recently announced that Ludlow and Oakengates are the latest communities to be in line for high-speed fibre broadband in 2013, adding a further 11,200 homes and businesses to the current total of 82,000 homes and businesses that already have access to superfast broadband. 

Those areas in Shropshire and Telford and Wrekin which already have access include Baschurch, Dawley, Donnington, Newport, Oswestry, Shrewsbury, Stirchley and Wellington.  Bridgnorth and Whitchurch are planned for completion by the end of 2013.

The council is continuing its Connecting Shropshire campaign, which aims to support the Government’s initiative of getting every property in the Shropshire Council area access to at least the industry minimum standard of broadband, and as much superfast broadband as possible, by the end of 2015. 

Around £16 million is being invested by the council and the Government to help provide broadband in areas where the private sector has not been able to reach.  The council is now starting discussions with the private sector to secure a partner to install the infrastructure and further invest in the project. 

Martin Taylor-Smith, Shropshire Council’s Cabinet member responsible for ICT, said:

“The upgrades by BT are a welcome step forward for Shropshire, but we remain fully aware that there is lots of work to be done to connect the whole of the county to a decent standard of broadband.  We are continuing our Connecting Shropshire campaign to ensure everyone can connect to the industry-standard minimum speed by the end of 2015, with as many as possible connected to a superfast service.”

Click here for further information on Connecting Shropshire.