South Gloucestershire and Wiltshire councils sign joint deal with BT to bring faster broadband to rural areas

• £35.6 million deal with BT to give more than 94 per cent of South Gloucestershire premises access to fibre broadband¹ 
• Aim to deliver minimum of 2Mbps to all premises in the project area 

4-2-2013 — /europawire.eu/ — A £35.6 ¹ million project announced today is set to catapult Wiltshire and South Gloucestershire into the broadband fast lane. 

South Gloucestershire Council, in partnership with Wiltshire Council, has agreed a deal with BT which should enable 94 per cent of homes and businesses in the South Gloucestershire authority area⁵  to have access to world class broadband speeds by the end of March, 2016. The remaining premises within the project area will see a significant improvement in their speeds with the vast majority receiving greater than 2Mbps.

The project, which is set to benefit more than 104,000² homes and businesses in South Gloucestershire and Wiltshire, builds on BT’s commercial roll-out of fibre broadband across the two local authority areas.

Following the contract signing, there will be a period of planning, with work expected to start on the ground during the autumn. The first exchanges enabled under the project are expected to go live with fibre in spring, 2014.

Today’s partnership is the latest to be announced under the Government’s Broadband Delivery UK (BDUK) programme. £4.6m of the funds will come from BDUK, , £2 million from South Gloucestershire Council £15.5 million from Wiltshire Council, £12.8million from BT and £0.74 million from the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF).

The aim of the councils’ partnership, which is managed by both councils and BDUK, is to have the majority of homes and businesses covered by this project able to enjoy speeds above 24Mbps and up to 80Mbps.

Fibre-to-the-cabinet (FTTC), where high-speed fibre cabling is connected to a street cabinet near a user’s home or business, will be the main technology deployed, delivering downstream speeds of up to 80Mpbs and upstream speeds of up to 20Mbps. Fibre-to-the-premises technology (FTTP) – delivering speeds of up to 330Mbps – will also be deployed in certain areas. In addition, from Spring 2013, BT aims to make FTTP technology commercially available on demand ³ in any area where fibre broadband has been deployed, should local businesses want the ultra-fast speeds it offers.*

It is also the intention to address those premises across both local authority areas receiving a connection of less than 2Mbps by ensuring all areas covered by the project receive that speed as a minimum by the end of March 2016.

Cllr John Goddard, Chair of South Gloucestershire Council’s Resources Sub-Committee, said: “We are delighted to have signed the contract with BT and our partners at Wiltshire Council to bring superfast broadband to thousands of homes and businesses. The deal will see improved coverage in South Gloucestershire, with 94 per cent of homes and businesses being able to access super fast fibre broadband once roll-out is complete.

“Benefits to firms will include faster file storage, computer back-up and processing for example, while the new technology will transform the way our residents use the internet at home, from speeding up the simple sharing of photos and videos, to enjoying watching films and TV programmes online. These improvements will ensure South Gloucestershire continues to be recognised as a great place to live and do business.”

John Thomson, Wiltshire Councils Cabinet Member for communities, said: “Today’s announcement will see Wiltshire becoming one of the most fibre-enabled counties in the country, after struggling with slower broadband speeds in the past. This project will really put the county on the map, attracting more businesses, helping existing ones grow and enabling rural properties become less isolated.”

Bill Murphy, Managing Director, Next Generation Broadband from BT Group added: “It’s great to see Wiltshire and South Gloucestershire working in partnership to bring the best possible broadband to their rural communities. 

“High speed broadband is critical to attracting new businesses to the area and providing individuals with access to the myriad of new applications and services that are becoming available.

“The good news is that this project will catapult Wiltshire and South Gloucestershire into the broadband fast lane, providing a choice of service provider and a sustained and long term broadband solution for businesses and individuals in rural as well as urban areas.”

The fibre network will bring big benefits to firms including faster file storage, computer back-up and processing, while the new technology will transform the way residents use the internet at home – speeding up the simple sharing of photos and videos, to enjoying watching films and TV programmes online.

Openreach, BT’s local network division, will install the fibre network which will be open to all communications providers on an equal basis ⁴. This means consumers and businesses in South Gloucestershire Wiltshire and will benefit from a highly competitive market, bringing greater choice and affordable prices from the service provider of their choice.

ENDS

Notes to editors

¹The £35.6 Million project will deliver fibre broadband to 91% of premises in Wiltshire, excluding Swindon, and 94% of premises in South Gloucestershire authority areas.

²104,000 premises across both local authority areas were identified as being eligible for public sector funding, because the industry had classed them as not being commercially viable. Without the support of this public sector investment these premises would have been very unlikely to see an improved service.

³Openreach will levy an installation charge for FTTP on demand. It will be up to broadband service providers to decide whether they pass that on to businesses or consumers wishing to use the product.

⁴Openreach provides external CPs (Communications Providers) with a variety of ways in which they can offer fibre broadband to their customers. These include an ‘active’ product – GEA – which comes in various speed combinations and a ‘passive’ product – PIA – whereby CPs can lay their own fibre via our ducts and poles if they want greater control over the service they offer.

⁵When adding the contract project area (predominantly rural premises) to the urban areas, either those already within the fibre footprint, announced as being within current commercial plans or more likely in the future to be commercially viable, this will deliver 91% of premises in Wiltshire (excluding Swindon) authority area and 94% S Gloucestershire authority area access to fibre broadband.

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

Ahead of today’s agreement, BT had already announced that 15 exchanges across the two local authority areas – eight in Wiltshire (North Wiltshire, West Wiltshire, Kennett and Salisbury unitary authority areas) Calne, Chippenham, Devizes, Melksham, Salisbury, Trowbridge, Warminster, Westbury and seven in South Gloucestershire Bitton, Chipping Sodbury, Downend, Filton, Kingswood, Thornbury and Winterbourne – will benefit from the company’s commercial investment in fibre broadband. The project does not include exchanges in the Swindon Borough Council area.

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