Faster broadband to give Shropshire towns a boost
Two communities in Shropshire are to benefit from BT's latest expansion of high-speed fibre broadband, it was revealed today.
Oswestry and Dawley in Telford are to get faster broadband with engineering works set to be completed by the end of next spring.
Mike Cook, BT regional director for the West Midlands, said: "We're pleased to announce further investment in fibre broadband as part of our continuing commitment to make the technology as widely available as possible.
"Fast, sophisticated connections are the cornerstone of a successful community, impacting on many aspects of modern life and providing a platform for new businesses and jobs.
"Future-proofed fibre broadband transforms the way people use online services – from entertainment and education to shopping and social networking.
"It can also enhance the competitiveness of local firms, speeding up the way they do business and giving them access to cost-saving 'cloud computing' services."
Councillor Steve Charmley, Shropshire Council's cabinet member with responsibility for the Connecting Shropshire project, said: "This is certainly good news for the communities that will benefit from these improvements.
"However, we appreciate there are still areas in the county which suffer from poor broadband connectivity and we are continuing to work with BT through the Connecting Shropshire project to bring faster broadband to as many people as possible."
Councillor Charles Smith, Telford & Wrekin Council's lead cabinet member for broadband, said: "We're pleased that BT have announced plans to begin work to upgrade the broadband provision in Dawley.
"Fibre optic broadband will deliver a much faster service to residents and businesses in the area. The rollout by BT is continuing across the borough and will benefit more and more people as it reaches each community."
Across the West Midlands as a whole, more than 1.2 million households and businesses can now get fibre broadband and this figure is expected to reach about 1.73 million by the end of next spring.
The commercial investment by BT is in addition to the £24.6 million Connecting Shropshire partnership between the company and Shropshire Council – and the Government's Broadband Delivery UK programme – which seeks to make high-speed, affordable fibre broadband to about 93 per cent of premises – more than 130,000 homes and businesses – by spring 2016.
