Andrew Charlesworth, Computing, Friday 1 October 2010 at 10:42:00
BT and European Commission invest up to �132m in rural broadband rollout
BT has announced a �78.5m investment in rolling out fibre broadband to The European Commission is adding up to a further �53.5m from European The intention is to boost the local economy by attracting and retaining The rollout of fibre broadband will create an estimated 4,000 new jobs and ?This gives businesses access to world-class communications which will Between 80 and 90 per cent of business and residents in Cornwall and the Cornwall and the Welsh Valleys are the two rural areas in the UK identified ?This is an investment in innovation, not a subsidy,? insisted Elizabeth The move is an example of the Commission's 2020 Vision for Europe and Digital BT is currently amid its �2.5bn next-generation access rollout which will The rollout runs through to 2014, but the first areas in the county will be As an example of how the fibre rollout will benefit the region, University ?You can't build a sustainable economy unless you have educated local Even though the network will not be available to 100 per cent of Cornwall's ?Our intention is to provide an uplift for everyone,? said Livingston. The move gives BT useful experience in connecting peripheral regions, said ?This project will provide BT with a blueprint and valuable experience of ?However, with Wales being the only other region in the UK that qualifies for But lack of external funding should not deter other rural areas which can ?No one should wait around for this to be done for them by central As is normal with BT, access to the new fibre network will be provided on a ?We're not building a local monopoly,? said Livingston. ?The UK has one of
Cornwall, potentially making the county one of the best-connected rural areas in
Europe.
Regional Development (ERD) Convergence funds.
high-tech, high-growth creative and low-carbon businesses which make use of
high-bandwidth connectivity.
protect a further 2,000 under threat from recessionary pressures, said Alec
Robertson, leader of Cornwall Council, at an announcement in Newquay.
dramatically increase their competitiveness,? he said.
Isles of Scilly will be able to connect to fibre to the premises (FTTP) and
fibre to the cabinet (FTTC) services, said BT chief executive Ian Livingston.
as eligible for ERD funding.
Holt, European Commission spokesperson.
Agenda in action, said Holt.
bring fibre broadband with download speeds of up to 40Mbit/s and upload speeds
of up to 10Mbit/s to two thirds of the UK population. Cornwall is classed as
part of ?the other third?.
connected in early 2011, said Livingston.
College Falmouth (UCF) will launch new courses and services as part of its
Academy of Innovation and Research to train local business and encourage
graduates to stay in the county and found creative businesses.
people,? UCF chief executive Prof Anne Carlisle told Computing.
citizens, the provision of fibre for the majority of the county will make it
more viable to connect previous not-spots in the region.
analysts, but the ERD funding will only be available to one other deprived UK
area and national regional development funds are being axed as part of public
spending cuts.
rolling out its superfast broadband network in more challenging rural
locations. It is also a clear example of how to bridge the gap between private
and public funding,? said Ovum analyst Mark Giles.
European funding, many other rural regions in the UK will be jealously looking
on at a time when regional development agencies are being wound up, and
uncertainty remains over the remit of their local economic partnership
replacements,? Giles added.
band together to finance fibre rollout with BT, said Livingston.
government; they can get on and do it themselves. This is the big society in
action,? he added.
wholesale basis to retail ISPs.
the most competitive access markets in the world.?
Full story at http://www.computing.co.uk/computing/news/2270788/fibre-boosts-cornish-bid
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