Superfast Berkshire scheme benefiting almost 20,000 premises
Almost 20,000 homes and business in Berkshire have now benefited from the roll-out of superfast broadband across the county.
A total of 98 cabinets have been installed to provide the necessary infrastructure for Berkshire-based residents and companies to access superfast broadband. According to Reading Borough Council, 19,300 homes and businesses who were not covered by commercial roll outs are now able to receive fibre optic broadband.
The improvements come thanks to £8.7 million of public sector funding, which has been sourced from the six Berkshire councils, the Thames Valley Berkshire Local Enterprise Partnership and Broadband Delivery UK. The council hopes that the initiative will help 94.9 per cent of the county access superfast broadband by the end of the year.
This is well ahead of the UK government's target of having 95 per cent of the British population able to access superfast broadband by the end of 2017, by which time Berkshire hopes to have achieved coverage of 98 per cent of its residents.
The positive news coming out of Berkshire arrives a week after the government revealed that the Superfast Britain scheme had passed more than 3 million premises, with an additional 5,000 premises benefiting from the roll-out every day.
Councillor Tony Page, Reading Borough Council deputy leader, commented: “The council has made a significant investment in superfast broadband as we recognise its importance to individuals and businesses.
“I’m delighted that we’ve upgraded the broadband capability to more than 813 Reading homes already and the first phase is yet to complete. We’re making good progress and I know people are very enthusiastic about the roll out of superfast broadband across the area.”
Digital economy minister Ed Vaizey added his congratulations on the Superfast Berkshire reaching almost 20,000 extra premises, declaring that the roll-out was making "incredible progress".
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(Image: Kings Sutton)
