Village subsidises BT fibre broadband installation

A small village in Kent has subsidised the cost of having BT fibre based broadband installed in the area, which has helped to ensure that it does not miss out on high speed broadband.

Communications giant BT announced earlier this year that it was investing two and a half billion pounds in the rollout of high speed, fibre optic broadband, which it aimed to provide to two thirds of UK homes. However, the company said that without some form of public investment it was unlikely that the service could be extended to the final third, namely rural areas.

It has now emerged that one small village in Kent, which could have been one of those that missed out on the high speed upgrades, has received a grant to subsidise the cost of fibre based broadband installation, which means that residents and businesses in the area will be able to enjoy the benefits of this technology. The grant has been given by Kent County Council to the village of Iwade.

An official from BT said: “Iwade did not feature in BT’s fibre roll-out plans previously, as the commercial case for deploying fibre in less densely populated areas is very challenging. However, by finding additional funding to bridge the gap in BT’s commercial case for rolling out fibre to the village, the local county and parish councils have helped BT to put Iwade firmly on the UK’s fibre broadband map.”

Ann official from Openreach added: “Our investment is one of the biggest commercial investments in fibre in the world, and we are prepared to invest further if others are prepared to work with us. Our partnership with Iwade is a great example of this, and we’re very keen to work with other parts of the country on similar projects.”

Source – Zdnet