More than 13,400 Ardrossan & Saltcoats homes and businesses to benefit from BT’s £2.5 billion roll-out; news welcomed by Katy Clark MP and Kenneth Gibson MSP
HIGH-speed fibre broadband is now available to the first homes and businesses in Ardrossan and Saltcoats, BT announced today.
More than 13,400 local households and firms are joining the high-speed revolution as engineers complete the local investment in the coming weeks.
Ardrossan and Saltcoats are the first locations in North Ayrshire to have access to the new technology. Irvine, Kilbirnie, Kilwinning and Stanecastle are also due to be upgraded and by the end of next year more than 36,800 homes and businesses across North Ayrshire will be able to benefit as a result of BT’s £2.5 billion fibre roll-out programme.
BT is set to announce further locations in the coming months that will benefit from its commercial roll out of fibre broadband. The company is also seeking to work in partnership with the Scottish Government and its agencies to reach parts of the country that lie outside its commercial footprint.
Brendan Dick, BT regional director, said: “BT’s fibre network is expanding across Ayrshire bringing a boost for local economies wherever it goes. Research suggests that within 15 years fibre broadband could bolster the economy of a typical town by £143 million and create 225 new jobs, 140 new start-up businesses and 1,000 more homeworkers1.
“As more than a million households and businesses have already discovered, fibre broadband opens up a whole new world to internet users. Whatever you’re doing online, you can do it better and faster with fibre. It’s great for education, shopping, entertainment, the social networking we now carry out routinely online and it also offers huge benefits for businesses and public services.
“The arrival of fibre in Ardrossan and Saltcoats can really help local firms in these economically challenging times, opening up new ways of working and speeding up vital operations, such as file and data transfers, conferencing and computer back-up, all of which may also help cut costs.”
BT’s fibre footprint currently passes more than 12 million UK homes and businesses. It is expanding all the time and is now due to pass two-thirds of UK premises – around 19 million premises – during Spring 2014, at least 18 months ahead of the original timetable. 2
Brendan Dick added: “Our ambition doesn’t stop with our commercial roll-out. We’re keen to play a role with the Scottish Government in delivering its digital ambition to extend fibre broadband to the remaining parts of Scotland which are harder to reach. Delivering our commercial plans to cover two-thirds of the UK early will mean we’re well positioned to place an even greater focus on the challenge of the final third.”
Openreach, BT’s local network business, is primarily deploying fibre-to-the-cabinet (FTTC) technology, where the fibre runs from the exchange to a local roadside cabinet. FTTC offers download speeds of up to 80Mbps and upload speeds of up to 20Mbps3 and could deliver even faster speeds in the future.
From Spring 2013 Openreach aims to make fibre-to-the-premises (FTTP) technology, where the fibre runs all the way to the home or business, commercially available on demand4 in any area where fibre broadband has been deployed. FTTP-on-demand will offer the top current download speed of 330Mbps3. According to the regulator Ofcom, the current average UK broadband speed is 9Mbps.
Katy Clark, MP for North Ayrshire and Arran said: “This is a significant step for Ardrossan and Saltcoats. High-speed digital connectivity is a defining factor in our long-term success. At a time when our local economy needs a much needed boost, important developments such as BT’s investment in super-fast broadband offer us the potential to create new opportunities, services and growth.”
Kenneth Gibson, MSP for Cunninghame North, said: “This investment from BT in Ardrossan and Saltcoats is not only great news for thousands of household users who can enjoy access to entertainment, online shopping and social networking at high speeds, but it will also help boost the local economy and attract businesses to the area. I am also delighted that future investment will soon see superfast broadband also come to Kilbirnie. Investment in this type of infrastructure is essential to put North Ayrshire and Scotland at the cutting edge of information and communication technology and I welcome the continued efforts of BT and the Scottish Government to roll out superfast broadband across Scotland.”
At home, fibre broadband enables a family to simultaneously download a movie, watch a TV replay service, surf the internet and play games online all at the same time. A whole album can be downloaded in less than 30 seconds and a feature length HD movie in less than ten minutes, whilst high-resolution photos can be uploaded to Facebook in seconds.
Unlike other companies, Openreach offers fibre broadband access to all service providers on an open, wholesale basis, underpinning a competitive market. For further information on Openreach’s fibre broadband programme visit www.superfast-openreach.co.uk
ENDS
Notes to editors
1 Research taken from Social Study 2012 – The Economic Impact of BT across the UK by Regeneris Consulting – see www.btsocialstudy.co.uk for more information.
2 BT’s deployment plans are subject to an acceptable environment for investment.
3 These are the top wholesale speeds available from Openreach to all service providers; speeds offered by service providers may vary.
4 Openreach will levy an installation charge for FTTP on demand. It will be up to service providers to decide whether they pass that on to businesses or consumers wishing to use the product.
Due to the current network topography, and the economics of deployment, it is likely that some premises within selected exchange areas will not initially be able to access fibre-based broadband. Openreach is considering alternative solutions for these locations.
MEDIA RELEASE issued by BT Scotland. You too can post your story ideas for journalists (aka Press or media releases), on allmediascotland.com. Email info@allmediascotland.com for more information.
Check out twitter.com/nonstopstories.
Contact: BT Scotland press office
Phone: 08000850660
Email: anna.steven@bt.com
Website: http://www.btplc.com/news
