World-leading trial wins superfast Cornwall its fourth international award

Cornwall the “envy” of some of the best connected places in the world, say judges 

Superfast Cornwall, the pioneering broadband partnership between the EU, BT and Cornwall Council, has just received its fourth international award as it creates a fibre optic network the “envy” of the world. 

The £132 million initiative was recognised at the Global Telecoms Business Innovation Awards in London last night (Tues) for a world-leading trial of hyper-fast broadband. Truro firm Arcol UK Ltd was the test site for the “proof of concept” trial, which used new fibre optic technology called XGPON developed by electronics company ZTE in partnership with Openreach, BT’s local network business. 

The trial used the new fibre network to demonstrate speeds of up to 10 gigabits per second (Gbps) – more than 100 times faster than even most forms of superfast broadband. 

Alan Burkitt-Gray, editor of Global Telecoms Business, said: “We at Global Telecoms Business have a close interest in the Superfast Cornwall programme — our designer lives and works from home near Hayle and we frequently send complex files backwards and forwards between her office and our base in London, benefiting from her fast 40 or 50 megabits per second (Mbps) connection. The project that has won this award is designed to bring even faster speeds to people living and working in Cornwall — speeds that even people in South Korea and Hong Kong, the best connected places on the planet, will envy.” 

The latest award in the Fixed Network Infrastructure Innovation section follows three other major successes for the partnership. Superfast Cornwall has already received the 2012 European Growth Leadership Award in Rural Broadband Deployment by international analysts Frost and Sullivan; the “Changing Lives” Broadband Infovision Award at the Annual Broadband World Forum; and been named Project of the Year at the World Communication Awards. 

The partnership was also involved in a further award-winning initiative. A trial of high-speed wireless 4G technology at St Newlyn East, near Newquay, by BT and Everything Everywhere was a winner at last year’s Global Telecoms Business Innovation Awards. 

Ranulf Scarbrough, Superfast Cornwall programme director for BT, said: “This latest award demonstrates, once again, the pioneering nature of Superfast Cornwall. Not only is the partnership making a major contribution to the future success of Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly by rolling out high-speed broadband communications to hundreds of thousands of homes and businesses, it is also pushing the technical boundaries and showing what can be achieved by this exciting technology.” 

Nigel Ashcroft, programme director of Superfast Cornwall for Cornwall Development Company, Cornwall Council’s economic development company, said: “It is particularly pleasing that the hyper-fast broadband trial in Truro has been recognised in this way. The record-breaking speeds achieved show the future potential of the fibre optic network. Superfast Cornwall is creating a legacy, which will be of benefit to the people of Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly for many decades to come.” 

Further information about the Global Telecoms Business Innovation Awards and photos are available at http://www.globaltelecomsbusiness.com/Stub/GTBInnovationAwards2013.html 

Further details and interviews about the hyper-fast broadband trial can be viewed at 
http://tinyurl.com/dxg7l2s 

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The exact amount is dependent on demand for fibre broadband from local businesses and could be lower than £132 million. 

For further information 

For further information on the Superfast Cornwall programme visit www.superfastcornwall.org

Notes to Editors 

Further information about next generation broadband is available from www.bt.com/ngb 

About the Convergence Programme 
The Superfast Cornwall programme is part financed by the Cornwall & Isles of Scilly Convergence 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.gov.uk/browse/business/funding-debt/european-regional-development-funding 

Project Investment: 

ERDF Convergence investment: Up to £53.5 million 
BT Investment: Up to £78.5 million 
TOTAL: Up to £132 million 

For more information visit www.erdfconvergence.org.uk 

About Cornwall Development Company 

Cornwall Development Company Ltd, the arms length economic development company for Cornwall Council, is managing the Superfast Cornwall programme. 

Further information is available at www.cornwalldevelopmentcompany.co.uk