City in line to get fastest connection
PEOPLE in Cardiff will be among the first in the UK to experience ultrafast fibre broadband under plans announced yesterday by Openreach for a major acceleration of its network.
The national broadband infrastructure provider revealed proposals to extend by 50% its target for rolling out Fibre to the Premises (FTTP) to reach three million premises across the UK by the end of 2020 through a new Fibre First programme.
Eight major cities – Cardiff, Bristol, Birmingham, Edinburgh, Leeds, Liverpool, London and Manchester – are in the first phase of the programme which will connect up to 40 UK towns, cities and boroughs with FTTP networks, with work starting this year.
Tens of thousands of homes and businesses in Cardiff are expected to benefit from the multi-million pound expansion, further details of which are expected to be announced later in the year.
According to independent website thinkbroadband, more than 98% of households and businesses in Cardiff already have access to superfast broadband speeds of 24Mbps and above.
Openreach said it would continue to focus on delivering FTTP to rural areas, in partnership with the Government, to make sure hard to reach communities get access to FTTP networks.
Openreach chief executive Clive Selley said: “Through the Fibre First programme, Openreach is getting on with the job of building an ultrafast Britain. We are accelerating our plans to build FTTP to three million premises by 2020 which sets the course to reach 10 million by the mid-2020s with the right conditions.
“Working closely with central and local government and our communication provider customers, we will identify the cities, towns and rural areas where we can build a future-proofed FTTP network that’s capable of delivering gigabit speeds to all homes and businesses at an affordable cost.”
If it reaches its target of connecting three million premises by 2020 Openreach will be on course to achieve its ambition of a 10 million FTTP footprint by the mid-2020s.
Cardiff council leader Huw Thomas said: “A world-class city deserves world-class digital infrastructure, and we believe full-fibre technology will be key to unlocking the long-term productivity of businesses in this region.
“Beyond the economic benefits, ultrafast broadband also has the potential to transform lives and support a better, fairer and more inclusive society.
“This technology will enable us to deliver more effective public services online, and support this region’s residents to access resources and services online that can improve their health, skills and general wellbeing.”
Ynyr Roberts, programme director in Wales for Openreach, said: “This latest multi-million pound investment in Cardiff by Openreach will give a vital boost to the city’s households and businesses.”