26 January 2012 07:57

infrastructure

Superfast broadband comes to a whole county

Every business and home in Lincolnshire will have super-fast broadband access – but it’s going to take another five years.

The Government has approved Lincolnshire County Council’s plan to spend £10 million on bringing next generation broadband to the county. The proposals will see 90 per cent of properties receiving superfast speeds of at least 24 Mb/second by 2015, with the rest guaranteed to get at least 2 Mb/second. By 2017, everyone will be able to enjoy superfast broadband wherever they are in the county.

Coun Kelly Smith said: “Our plan will bring superfast broadband to everyone in Lincolnshire. This isn’t a luxury – that’s why the county council is investing £10 million in this project, despite the difficult financial climate.

“Improved broadband is vital for business growth, for all residents accessing services, including the growing number of silver surfers, and for young people looking to download learning materials.

“The next five years will see around £57 million of private and public sector money invested in broadband technology. Now our plan has been approved, we can get started on making our ambitions a reality.

“Businesses are also being encouraged to build up a picture of the current situation by registering at www.onlincolnshire.org. This will help prove to commercial suppliers that there is a demand in Lincolnshire for the next generation of broadband infrastructure.”

• Meanwhile, further north BT has extended superfast broadband to 85,000 premises in Yorkshire and the Humber, covering Haxby, Stamford Bridge, Pickering, Goole, Balby Filey, Flockton, Howden, Ripon, Tadcaster, Bedale, Barrow-on-Humber, Cantley, Finningley and Normanton, it was announced this week.

BT’s John Anderson said: “BT is also keen to work with the public sector to explore ways of bringing faster broadband to other areas which are geographically and commercially more challenging.”

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