More Shropshire villages to gain fast broadband link

Shropshire Council and BT have confirmed the names of the latest communities in line to benefit from faster internet speeds as fibre broadband is installed in their areas.

Alberbury, Aston on Clun, Boningale, Clungunford, Cosford, Cross Lane Head, Halfway House, Little Brampton, Ploxgreen, Pontesford and Purslow have been chosen for the rollout.

Also in line for the faster internet connections are Quatford, Snailbeach, Stoke St. Milborough, Upton Magna, Westbury, Withington and Yockleton. The new connections should be in place from spring this year.

Last month, Montford Bridge became the first rural community to "go live" as part of the Connecting Shropshire project.

Bicton and Harlescott have also been connected up, with Albrighton, Ford, Minsterley and Pontesbury due to 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.

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."

More than 62,000 rural homes and businesses will be able to access faster broadband by the end of spring 2016 through the programme, which is designed to benefit areas previously considered to not be commercially viable for connections.

The project is being funded by £7.8 million from the Government's Broadband Delivery UK programme, £8.2 million from Shropshire Council and £8.6 million from BT.