The superfast broadband services went live as the first roadside cabinet to be funded by the programme was switched on.
The switch on is part of a national initiative, which sees green fibre broadband cabinets in many parts of the country ‘going live’ simultaneously today. Super Switch On Day marks the progress of superfast broadband partnerships with Broadband Delivery UK – the Government agency providing £780 million in public funding to extend superfast broadband to 95 per cent of the UK by 2017.
Montford Bridge is just one of a number of villages and towns up and down the country that today join the 200,000 premises in mostly rural locations around the UK that are already enjoying access to faster fibre broadband speeds as a result of the Broadband Delivery UK programme.
Connecting Shropshire, a partnership between Shropshire Council and BT, builds on BT’s own commercial rollout of fibre broadband, so that 93 per cent of homes and businesses in the Shropshire Council area will have access to fibre broadband by the end of spring 2016.
The arrival of fibre broadband in Montford Bridge was welcomed by Owen Paterson, Environment Secretary, who said:
“The rollout of superfast broadband has the potential to transform rural areas, bridging the age-old gap between rural and urban. It will allow businesses to grow and expand, and communities to access services in a way that they’ve not been able to before.
“It will be a massive benefit to everyone who lives in this area, and I look forward to seeing many more of these projects get off the ground.”
Steve Charmley said:
“This is an important step forward. Whether you are a local businessperson wishing to build your company, a student carrying out research, or a householder making use of online shopping and entertainment, access to high-speed Internet has never been more important. In today’s rapidly moving world, fast and sophisticated communications are absolutely vital. They are an essential part of future success.”
Montford Bridge will be joined by more than 6,000 homes and businesses in Albrighton, Harlescott in Shrewsbury, Minsterley and Pontesbury, that will have access to high speed fibre broadband in the next three months as a result of the multi-million-pound Connecting Shropshire programme. Once an area is enabled, people should check with their Internet Service Provider regarding fibre broadband availability, cost and speed.
Shropshire Live is regulated by