Press release -
Isle of Wight - Demand for high-speed fibre broadband soars with multi million pound Isle of Wight project
Quarter of residents (25%) on the Island take up fibre broadband
Seaview yacht club on ‘Cloud’ nine
More people on the Isle of Wight are signing-up for high-speed fibre broadband than ever before, thanks to the work of the Isle of Wight’s multi million pound rural broadband project.
The multi-million pound partnership between the Isle of Wight Council and BT, which has made fibre-optic technology available to 99 per cent of homes and businesses on the island, has seen local demand for fibre broadband soar.
The number of households and businesses using the faster connections on the Isle of Wight has more than doubled in the past year with more than 25 per cent now signed up tofibre broadband compared to 11 per cent just 12 months ago.
Jamie Nimmo, secretary of the Sea View Yacht Club, said: “Fibre broadband has dramatically changed my business. My favourite feature is the new cloud based webcam, which shows our yacht races to members and we use it to help decide photo-finishes and false starts with more accuracy. I can also offer my customers wi-fi, which is important to all of our members, particularly business people, who need to be able to work online at the club. I also contact my 1,700 members with our newsletter at the click of a button, which cuts down on admin time.”
Some of the most recent areas to benefit from the fibre broadband rollout include parts of Limerstone, the Kemming Road area of Niton and Ningwood Hill.
Stacey King, BT’s regional partnership director for the South East, said: “We are delighted the fibre broadband rollout on the Isle of Wight is proving to be so popular. It is great to see that ordinary people are really benefitting. The technology really does have the ability to transform the way people and businesses use the internet.”
Fibre broadband helps make everything happen online much faster than a standard broadband connection. The technology offers download speeds up to 80Mbps.
All of the engineering work for the Isle of Wight broadband project is being carried out by Openreach, BT’s local network business. This means residents and businesses with access to fibre broadband can choose from a wide range of internet service providers and benefit from competitive pricing and products.
The multi-million pound rural broadband partnership is jointly funded by the Isle of Wight Council, which has been investing £2.4 million to match the funding provided by the UK government through the Broadband Delivery UK programme - and BT, which was contributing capital and ongoing revenue funding of £2.7 million.
More information on the Isle of Wight project and the availability of fibre broadband can be found at: www.iwight.com/broadband
Categories
- south east of england
About Isle of Wight partnership
The Isle of Wight Council Cabinet appointed BT in September 2013 as the preferred supplier to put in place Next Generation Access (NGA) infrastructure to make fibre broadband available to an estimated 20,000 premises in a mainly rural ‘intervention area’ across the Island - where there is no commercial case for the provision of such infrastructure.
In its decision to appoint BT, the Cabinet set out stringent requirements:
- 99 per cent of Island premises to have NGA infrastructure.
- 90 per cent of premises in the intervention area to have immediate access to superfast broadband speeds of at least 24mbps post project.
About Openreach
Openreach is responsible for the last mile of the UK access network – the copper wires and fibre connecting homes and businesses to their local telephone exchanges. Openreach provides communications providers with services and products associated with that network.
About BT
BT’s purpose is to use the power of communications to make a better world. It is one of the world’s leading providers of communications services and solutions, serving customers in 180 countries. Its principal activities include the provision of networked IT services globally; local, national and international telecommunications services to its customers for use at home, at work and on the move; broadband, TV and internet products and services; and converged fixed-mobile products and services.BT consists of six customer-facing lines of business: Consumer, EE, Business and Public Sector, Global Services, Wholesale and Ventures, and Openreach.
For the year ended 31 March 2016, BT Group’s reported revenue was £19,042m with reported profit before taxation of £3,029m.
British Telecommunications plc (BT) is a wholly-owned subsidiary of BT Group plc and encompasses virtually all businesses and assets of the BT Group. BT Group plc is listed on stock exchanges in London and New York.
For more information, visit www.btplc.com
About BDUK
Superfast Britain is a Government programme of investment in broadband and communication infrastructure across the UK. Run by the Department of 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:
- £780m to extend superfast broadband to 95% of the UK by 2017
- £150m to provide high speed broadband to businesses in 22 cities
- £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
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