Contract signed for superfast service to 67,000 homes

THOUSANDS of homes and businesses will soon have faster broadband as part of a £25m investment boost.

Oxfordshire County Council last night revealed that BT had been selected as its commercial partner for the “better broadband” project.

The scheme, which will receive £4m of Government money, £10m from the county council and £11m of investment from BT, will aim to have a minimum speed of 24 megabits per second (Mbps) available to 90 per cent of businesses and homes in Oxfordshire by the end of 2015, and a minimum of 2Mbps to the remaining 10 per cent.

The scheme will be rolled out gradually to 67,000 homes and businesses almost entirely in rural areas between now and December 2015, but no specific details about which areas will be included has been released.

The news has been welcomed across the county by people in rural areas who have to put up with slow speeds.

Finstock resident and parish councillor Graham Hemmings said: “At the moment I put up with very low broadband speeds, usually no more than 2mbps.

“Anything that would improve this situation would be gratefully appreciated not just by myself but by other business users within the village.”

Witney Air Cadets instructor and Soldiers’ and Sailors’ Families Association regional secrerary Bill MacGillivray said: “All charity administrative work for the SSAFA forces charity is carried out online and a large amount of air cadet training is also online.

“Our current broadband speeds are insufficient for what is required, in fact, sometimes I feel it would be far quicker with pen and paper.”

The contract between BT and the county council was signed yesterday, which means survey work can begin immediately to find out the best way to roll out work to install fibre-optic cables across the county.

The cables will eventually carry broadband speeds of up to 80Mbps to rural areas, but a map of the coverage area and plans for the installation of cables have yet to be revealed.

The contract means BT has to provide the speeds and coverage agreed and will bear the financial burden if take-up of the scheme is not as high as expected.

Cabinet member for business and customer service Nick Carter denied the funding was a public subsidy of a commercial company, and said investment was needed.

He said: “We’re in the early part of the 21st century, and broadband is viewed very much as part and parcel of daily life.

“The better broadband programme will mean different things for different people, but in most cases it will mean a substantial improvement.”

BT spokesman Bill Murphy added that 175,000 homes and businesses across Oxfordshire already receive fibre-optic broadband from BT and said: “Oxfordshire is a very rural county and without the public sector being a co-investor the other areas would not be covered.”

The average broadband speed in Oxfordshire is currently 12.3Mbps, but much faster in urban areas.

‘Speed stops people working at home’

CHILTON Parish Council chairman and former IT manager Chris Broad said he welcomed the scheme, but residents were still in the dark over whether or not they would benefit.

Mr Broad, pictured above, said: “What we don’t know at the moment is whether or not we’re part of the 90 per cent.

“We get about 1mbps here, some people get a bit less and some people a tad more, but it is very slow.”

He added: “It does put people off working from home.”

Statistics

  • Current average broadband speed in Oxfordshire – 12.3Mbps
  • Proposed coverage – 90 per cent of homes with 24Mbps or more, some with up to 80Mbps
  • Number of homes already covered by BT’s commercial rollout – 175,000
  • Amount of time taken to download an on-demand TV show with a 5Mbps connection – 12mins
  • Amount of time taken to download an on-demand TV show with a 40Mbps connection – 1.5mins