Shropshire Council bosses hail broadband milestone - Scheme sees 40,000 properties connected to high-speed service
Council bosses have hailed a 'fantastic achievement' as 40,000 homes are now officially able to connect to high-speed fibre broadband.
The latest places to benefit from the roll-out of high-speed broadband include south Shropshire villages such as Ashford Carbonell, near Ludlow, and Chirbury on the Welsh border, as well as Wollerton in the north of the county near Market Drayton.
In addition, work continues in parts of towns such as Bishop's Castle, Prees and Wem, where faster fibre broadband is starting to become available for the first time.
Steve Charmley, Shropshire Council's cabinet member with responsibility for broadband, said: "It's a fantastic achievement for the Connecting Shropshire programme to have provided more than 40,000 homes and businesses with access to a fibre-based broadband connection that wouldn't have benefitted without our intervention.
"High-speed internet access is increasingly important for all members of society and Connecting Shropshire remains a key strategic programme for Shropshire Council.
"Shropshire has a high percentage of small enterprises and businesses run from home, and it is imperative that these should be able to compete in an increasingly global economy. At the same time as this positive news, we fully appreciate there is more work to do," he said.
The Connecting Shropshire programme is being rolled out by Shropshire Council with BT.
Bill Murphy, BT's managing director for next generation access, said: "Today marks another important milestone for Shropshire.
Every day we're seeing how high-speed broadband is transforming the way local families, residents, homeworkers and other businesses work, learn, communicate and enjoy their leisure time."
One business to benefit is Morris Corfield, a family-run supplier of agricultural equipment with sites in Broseley and Craven Arms, he said.
Oliver Morris, IT director at Morris Corfield, said: "At Broseley we're now pushing download speeds of 30 megabits per second, and our Craven Arms site is regularly seeing download speeds of up to 60Mbps, while our upload speeds there have risen dramatically from 0.5Mbps to 8Mbps."
To find out if fibre broadband is available in your area, enter your phone number or postcode in the checker on the Connecting Shropshire website at connectingshropshire.co.uk/when-and-where/
