Thousands of Shropshire homes to benefit from new multi-million pound fibre broadband contract

The Government and Openreach have confirmed four new 'Project Gigabit' fibre broadband contracts - worth more than £289m.

One of the four covers a significant part of Shropshire - with the £108 million contract set to boost 47,000 premises in east and south Shropshire, north Herefordshire, north Wales, and southwest Wales.

The contracts are part of government efforts to improve internet for rural properties across the country.

The areas covered in the contract are those where improvements have not already been made because they have previously been considered too expensive by private contractors.

An update from the Government said: "This will deliver the fastest, most reliable broadband networks on the market to hundreds of towns and villages in rural Britain and plug the digital divide outside urban areas."

Technology secretary Peter Kyle said: "We are determined to deliver the infrastructure this country needs to thrive, and I am thrilled to see so many homes and businesses in all areas of the country getting access to the fastest broadband speeds on the market through Project Gigabit.

"With today’s £289 million investment, we are not only boosting connectivity, but making it easier to access remote healthcare, online education, shopping online. work, learn, shop and stay in touch with loved ones online.

"As part of this Government’s Plan for Change, we will plug digital divides, helping to make the UK a more equal society where everyone is given a fair shot in life."

A statement from the Department of Science, Innovation and Technology said the improvements would make a huge difference to homes, allowing faster speeds and connections which do not slow down at peak times.

It said: "The latest contracts add to the 96,600 premises already set to benefit under a UK government agreement with Openreach. The agreement signed earlier this year will make up to £800 million of funding available to modernise broadband infrastructure in rural areas of England, Scotland and Wales, ending the plight of buffering.

"Across the UK, Project Gigabit is now delivering gigabit connectivity to over 1.1 million hard-to-reach premises – a figure that will continue to rise in the months ahead, meeting the demand for reliable connectivity, stimulating rural economies and reducing regional disparities.

"For households, gigabit-capable broadband delivers faster speeds and fewer dropouts, providing a gateway to remote working and online education. Unlike traditional copper-based networks, gigabit connections won’t slow down at peak times, meaning no more battling for bandwidth with neighbours. Gigabit networks can easily handle over a hundred devices all at once with no buffering, meaning the whole family can seamlessly surf, stream and download at the same time."

Openreach CEO Clive Selley said: "Our new Full Fibre broadband network now reaches more than half of all properties in the UK, and we’re confident we can reach as many as 30 million premises by the end of the decade, assuming the right regulatory and investment conditions exist.

"This is a British infrastructure success story which experts say will boost productivity by £73 billion and bring a raft of social and environmental benefits for the country.

"We believe that everyone deserves access to fast and reliable broadband, and we’re proud that this partnership will help extend our ultrafast, ultra-reliable network to areas that would otherwise be left behind by the private sector."