Superfast broadband reaches 100,000 homes and business thanks to Superfast North Yorkshire project

More than 40,000 homes and businesses in North Yorkshire already using superfast broadband 

Superfast North Yorkshire today announced that more than 100,000 homes and businesses are now able to access high-speed fibre broadband as a direct result of the project.

A further 175,000 premises in the county have access to fibre broadband via BT’s commercial roll-out which combined means more than 70 per cent of the county can now take advantage of much faster broadband speeds.

Since Christmas, despite challenging weather conditions, engineers working on the project have enabled a total of 12 new exchange areas along with the installation of 57 new fibre cabinets. A number of areas, which previously had no fibre broadband at all, have now been connected for the first time including premises in Appleton Roebuck, Leyburn, Whitley Bridge and Tollerton.

Councillor Carl Les, chairman of Superfast North Yorkshire, said: “This is great progress. The fact that we have just brought fibre broadband to communities as far afield as Sandsend in the North, Whitley Bridge in the South, Settle in the West and Filey in the East helps demonstrate the scale and breadth of the roll-out.

“We’re now seeing around 600 homes and businesses signing up to superfast broadband each week across North Yorkshire, with more than 40,000 premises already using this exciting technology.

Among the North Yorkshire businesses reaping the rewards of fibre broadband is Bangyourowndrum, a brand communications company based in Ripon.

Nicola David, founder and managing director, said: “Having fibre broadband has enabled me to make efficiencies to my business that were impossible before. I signed up for the Superfast North Yorkshire business support programme to make sure I was taking full advantage of what digital technology has to offer a small business.

“A master class in cloud computing and a free tablet mean I can now store, access and work on my files in the Cloud, not only in the office but when I’m out and about. Being able to access files from any computer and knowing my work is automatically protected and backed-up is fantastic”.

The Superfast North Yorkshire project was the first in the UK to deploy fibre broadband using Broadband Delivery UK (BDUK) funds following the signing of a £36.4m contract led by North Yorkshire County Council and BT in July last year 1. It builds on BT’s commercial fibre investment so that 90 per cent of North Yorkshire’s 380,000 homes and businesses will have access to fibre broadband by the end of 2014.

Downstream speeds of up to 80Mbps are common and ultra-fast speeds of up to 330Mbps will start to become available ‘on demand’ as the service is rolled out across the existing fibre footprint 2.

Bill Murphy, BT’s managing director of next generation access, added: “From children doing their homework to caring for our elderly population and from social media, to e-commerce and home entertainment – fast broadband is the critical enabler.

“Superfast broadband can transform our rural businesses and communities, improve productivity, and enable business to access new markets while breaking down the digital divide within rural communities. It will also improve and transform the delivery of public information and services.

“Thousands more local residents now have the opportunity to find out for themselves why there’s such a buzz about fibre broadband and I would urge people to check with their local service provider to see what is on offer.”

The high-speed network installed by Openreach is available on an open, wholesale basis to all communication providers, therefore offering North Yorkshire households and businesses the benefit of real choice from a highly competitive market.

The majority of premises in North Yorkshire will be getting access to some of the best broadband speeds in the country via Superfast North Yorkshire and BT’s associated commercial roll-out. The high speed service will boost the competitiveness of local firms and offer new ways of flexible working, entertainment and learning opportunities for local residents.

To help businesses in North Yorkshire take advantage of the faster broadband speeds a support service has been put in place to provide free services such as training workshops, skills master classes and business development events. This will demonstrate how faster broadband connections can help to develop business and increase profits by maximising efficiency and productivity. For more information call 0845 0020021 or email: enquiries@sfny.co.uk

For further information on the Superfast North Yorkshire programme visitwww.superfastnorthyorkshire.com

Ends
1 The Superfast North Yorkshire project is part financed by the European Regional Development Fund Programme 2007 to 2013. The Department for Communities and Local Government is the managing authority for the European Regional Development Fund Programme, which is one of the funds established by the European Commission to help local areas stimulate their economic development by investing in projects which will support local businesses and create jobs. For more information visit www.communities.gov.uk/erdf

2 Openreach will levy installation and distance-based construction charges for this service. It will be up to service providers to then decide whether they pass that onto businesses or consumers wishing to take advantage of the product.

Due to the current network topography, and the economics of deployment, it is likely that some premises within the selected exchange areas will not initially be able to access fibre-based broadband. Alternative solutions for these locations are being investigated.

Photography illustrating the Superfast North Yorkshire project is available here:http://imagelibrary.btplc.com/assetbank-btplc/action/browseItems?categoryId=606&categoryTypeId=1

Superfast Britain is a Government programme of investment in broadband and communication infrastructure across the UK. Run by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport, this investment helps businesses to grow, creates jobs and will make Britain more competitive in the global race. The portfolio is comprised of three elements:
• £790m to extend superfast broadband to 95% of the UK by 2017;
• £150m to provide high speed broadband to businesses in 22 cities; and
• £150m to improve quality and coverage of mobile phone and basic data network services.
Administered on behalf of Government by Broadband Delivery UK (BDUK),Superfast Britain is transforming Britain by promoting growth, enabling skills and learning, and improving quality of life. For further information: https://www.gov.uk/broadband-delivery-uk

About Superfast North Yorkshire
Superfast North Yorkshire was created in July 2012 following the signing of the contract between North Yorkshire County Council and BT, which will see a total fibre broadband investment in the county expected to reach around £70 million.
North Yorkshire is the first county in the UK successfully to deploy Broadband Delivery UK (BDUK) funds, which will be used to extend the roll-out of faster broadband across the county. The project will reach those areas outside of any commercial roll-out using a partnership approach to ensure all communities have access to the fastest possible broadband speeds.
The Superfast North Yorkshire project is part financed by the European Regional Development Fund Programme 2007 to 2013. The Department for Communities and Local Government is the managing authority for the European Regional Development Fund Programme, which is one of the funds established by the European Commission to help local areas stimulate their economic development by investing in projects which will support local businesses and create jobs. For more information visit www.communities.gov.uk/erdf