Latest communities to benefit from multi-million pound Connecting Shropshire broadband partnership are announced

Fibre broadband coming soon to 18 more Shropshire communities.

The next communities to benefit from the £24.6 million Connecting Shropshire fibre broadband partnership were announced today by Shropshire Council and BT. Alberbury, Aston on Clun, Boningale, Clungunford, Cosford, Cross Lane Head, Halfway House, Little Brampton, Ploxgreen, Pontesford, Purslow, Quatford, Snailbeach, Stoke St. Milborough, Upton Magna, Westbury, Withington and Yockleton will be the next places to get high-speed broadband as part of the programme. Fibre broadband will be coming soon to these areas with people able to order services from Spring 2014.

Last month Montford Bridge became the first rural community to ‘go live’ as part of Connecting Shropshire. The programme is gathering momentum with roadside fibre broadband cabinets going live each week, including in Harlescott, which was announced earlier this month, with Bicton also now ‘live’. Albrighton, Ford, Minsterley and Pontesbury will follow before the end of March. Residents and businesses in these locations will be able to enjoy broadband download speeds of up to 80 megabits per second and uploads of up to 20 Mbps*.

Connecting Shropshire is a partnership between Shropshire Council, BT and the Government’s Broadband Delivery UK (BDUK) that will enable more than 62,000 rural or very rural homes and businesses in Shropshire (excluding Telford and Wrekin) to access faster broadband.

The combined investment from Connecting Shropshire and BT’s own commercial programme will mean 93 per cent of homes and businesses in the Shropshire Council area will have access to fibre broadband by the end of Spring 2016.

Shropshire households and businesses are able to order fibre broadband from a wide range of internet service providers as the network is open to all providers on an open, wholesale basis, thereby ensuring competitive prices.

Steve Charmley, Shropshire Council Cabinet member responsible for broadband, said:

“It’s great to be able to confirm even more areas as part of the first phase of the programme. For the people and businesses in these rural communities it’ll mean that they will be able to gain access to higher broadband speeds sooner than they thought; in this day and age, it’s becoming ever more important to have fast and reliable broadband to get on in business and in life.”

Mike Cook, BT’s regional director for the West Midlands, said:

“The internet is playing an increasingly important part in all our lives which is why the strong progress being made by Connecting Shropshire is so important. Whether it’s small businesses keeping in touch with their customers and suppliers, children doing their homework or playing interactive games online, grandparents staying in touch with their grandchildren, or people working from home. Each of these things is made easier, quicker and better by faster fibre broadband.”

To check whether you can access fibre broadband services contact your internet service provider or go to www.connectingshropshire.co.uk

Further information

*These are the top wholesale speeds available from Openreach to all service providers; speeds offered by service providers may vary.

BT’s own commercial rollout of fibre broadband will bring fibre broadband to more than 123,000 homes and businesses across the county by the end of Spring 2014 (includes Shropshire Council and Telford & Wrekin Council areas).

Contact

For further information about this news release please contact: Emma Tennant at the BT Regional press office on 0800 085 0660 or email: emma.tennant@bt.com (All BT news releases can be read at www.bt.com/newscentre) or

Callum McLagan at the Shropshire Council press office on 01743 255939 or email callum.mclagan@shropshire.gov.uk (All Shropshire Council news stories can be read at http://shropshire.gov.uk/news/)

Connecting Shropshire programme website: http://connectingshropshire.co.uk/

About Connecting Shropshire

Connecting Shropshire is the name given to the programme bringing fibre based broadband to areas where it isn’t economically viable for commercial companies to provide it. It is a partnership between Shropshire Council, BT and Broadband Delivery UK (BDUK) that will enable more than 62,000 homes and businesses in Shropshire (excluding Telford and Wrekin) to access faster broadband by the end of Spring 2016.

When added to BT’s commercial roll-out, 93 per cent of premises in the Shropshire Council area will have access to fibre based broadband by the end of Spring 2016. All premises in the programme area will be provided with access to a basic level of broadband (a minimum of 2mbps).

About BT

BT is one of the world’s leading providers of communications services and solutions, serving customers in more than 170 countries. Its principal activities include the provision of networked IT services globally; local, national and international telecommunications services to its customers for use at home, at work and on the move; broadband, TV and internet products and services; and converged fixed/mobile products and services. BT consists principally of four lines of business: BT Global Services, BT Retail, BT Wholesale and Openreach.

For the year ended 31 March 2013, BT Group’s reported revenue was £18,103m with reported profit before taxation of £2,315m.

British Telecommunications plc (BT) is a wholly-owned subsidiary of BT Group plc and encompasses virtually all businesses and assets of the BT Group. BT Group plc is listed on stock exchanges in London and New York. For more information, visit www.btplc.com

Superfast Britain is a Government programme of investment in broadband and communication infrastructure across the UK. Run by the Department of Culture, Media and Sport, this investment helps businesses to grow, creates jobs and will make Britain more competitive in the global race. The portfolio is comprised of three elements:

• £780m to extend superfast broadband to 95 per cent of the UK by 2017
• £150m to provide high speed broadband to businesses in 22 cities
• £150m to improve quality and coverage of mobile phone and basic data network services

Administered on behalf of Government by Broadband Delivery UK (BDUK), Superfast Britain is transforming Britain by promoting growth, enabling skills and learning, and improving quality of life.

For further information: https://www.gov.uk/broadband-delivery-uk