Plans for 9 out of 10 premises in the local area to have access to high speed fibre broadband – and for all premises to have at least 2 mbps broadband – by the end of 2016 are on track.
The project, which is being run through a consortium of local authorities in the south west called Connecting Devon and Somerset, recently announced the first seven rural areas regionally that will receive high speed broadband in line with announced timescales.
Councillor Ben Stevens (Lib-Dem, Widcombe), Cabinet Member for Sustainable Development, said: “Although the first areas to receive high speed broadband under the project were not planned for our area, the fact that progress is being made on the rollout elsewhere in the region is immensely encouraging. It gives confidence to the Council that together with BT and Connecting Devon and Somerset the project will hit the ground running in our area for completion by the end of 2016.”
In a further potential boost to local broadband infrastructure, the Coalition Government last week announced a further £250 million available nationally to connect 95% of premises to high speed broadband by 2017.
Councillor Stevens added: “The Council, through Connecting Devon and Somerset, will be considering how this extra money could be obtained to increase the number of premises with access to high speed broadband. This would extend the high speed fibre rollout beyond the current figure of ninety per cent of premises.”
The commercial rollout of high speed broadband, which the Council has supported through the planning process, is going extremely well in Bath.
Jon Reynolds, BT’s South West regional director, said: “BT is making a major investment in high-speed fibre broadband in this area. This exciting technology is already available to more than 46,000 homes and businesses in Bath, Midsomer Norton and Radstock, whilst the upgrading of the Keynsham and Combe Down exchanges later this year will boost the figure to more than 57,000. The excellent cooperation of the local authority has been invaluable in helping us find the most suitable locations for our fibre broadband street cabinets in a world heritage city such as Bath.”
“All this work is in addition to our role as a major partner of the Connecting Devon and Somerset programme, which will be bringing faster broadband to more challenging areas not included in the private sector’s commercial plans. This technology is making a vital contribution to the success of local communities. Whatever you do online you can do it better with fibre broadband.”
The Council is committing a total of £865,000 into the project that will deliver a range of benefits to local people and create the business conditions for a prosperous economy. They include:
- Supporting the ambitions of the Bath City of Ideas Enterprise Area, creating new homes and jobs for local people;
- Giving local firms the opportunity to offer home working as a more viable option to their staff;
- Breaking down the digital divide in communities giving them quick and convenient access to local public services;
- Improving productivity as data can be downloaded and uploaded much more quickly than standard broadband.