Partnership approach brings high-speed broadband to new housing development at Earley, Reading

High-speed Fibre-to-the-Cabinet (FTTC) broadband technology

installed by the end of this year

A partnership between Openreach, BT’s local network business, and housing developer CALA Homes, is to make high-speed fibre broadband available to around 260 homes in the housing development at Orangery and Parklands, Earley, Reading.

The co-funded deal, in which Openreach will invest with CALA Homes, is expected to see the first residents at Orangery and Parklands get the high-speed service towards the end of this year. The high-speed technology will be available from a wide range of broadband service providers after Openreach engineers have completed the job of installing new fibre optic cabling and Fibre to the Cabinet technology (FTTC).

Alison Deakin, sales and marketing director for CALA Homes Thames, said: “When the homes at Orangery and Parklands were first planned, the option for installing fibre optic cabling was not feasible. However, over recent months we have worked closely with Openreach and residents to agree funding for upgrading the infrastructure to enable more homeowners to enjoy faster internet access. We are delighted that a solution is now in place that will allow all residents to benefit from high speed fibre broadband.”

Kim Mears, Openreach’s managing director for infrastructure delivery, said: “It is great to be able to work with proactive communities like Orangery and Parklands to find a fibre broadband solution. We are working on hundreds of similar community fibre partnership programmes across the UK, which are bringing faster internet access to even more homes and businesses. Openreach is committed to making fibre broadband as widely available as possible.

“Around 98 per cent[1] of households and businesses in Reading now have access to superfast speeds. The UK superfast broadband coverage will rise to 95 per cent by the end of 2017. 200 communities across the country have already signed up to our co-funded Community Fibre Partnerships scheme, with around 100 already enjoying the benefits of superfast broadband.”

Bill Murphy, BT’s managing director for next generation access, said: “As the roll-out of high-speed fibre broadband continues, it is great to see so many communities like Orangery and Parklands benefitting from this new technology. Fibre broadband is a major step forward for households businesses. The technology really does have the ability to transform the way people interact online.”

To find out how to help bring superfast broadband to your community visit www.communityfibre.bt.com

More than nine out of ten premises across the UK can access superfast broadband speeds. For more details on the roll-out visit www.openreach.co.uk/whereandwhen