Demand for faster fibre broadband doubles in Shropshire

The number of people in Shropshire enjoying the benefits of faster fibre broadband has more than doubled in the past two years, according to new figures announced by BT.

Around 50,000* households and businesses across Shropshire and Telford and Wrekin are now using the high-speed technology – up from around 22,000 in December 2014.

In the past 12 months alone, around 15,000 have opted for an upgrade – equivalent to nearly 300 new fibre broadband users a week.

The wide-ranging benefits of using the technology include high quality, speedy online access when connecting several devices to the internet at the same time as well as being able to share large files and photos.

Ian Binks, BT’s regional manager for Shropshire and the West Midlands, said: “At this busy time of the year, it’s especially great that so many households and businesses are now choosing faster fibre broadband.

“Whether you’re doing some Christmas shopping online, ‘clicking and collecting’, working from home, or using the internet to stay in touch with customers, colleagues or loved ones, all those things are easier, faster and better with fibre broadband.

“More than 181,000 premises across Shropshire and Telford and Wrekin are now able to access faster fibre broadband as a result of the multi-million pound investment by ourselves and our partners in the public sector, including Government and local authorities - and that figure is continuing to rise.

“In the meantime, we’re working hard to find solutions for any communities not yet covered by any public or private sector broadband roll-out.”

The fibre optic network being installed by Openreach, BT’s local network business, is ‘open’, which means local households and businesses opting for an upgrade have a wide choice of fibre broadband providers, and so can benefit from competitive pricing and products.

*The figures quoted refer to households and businesses that have chosen to be upgraded to faster fibre broadband as a result of BT’s commercial roll-out or as a result of being able to access the technology through a public-private sector partnership programme, in which BT is a co-funding partner.