Stephen
Metcalfe, local MP for South Basildon and East Thurrock, has welcomed a £24.6
million deal that will deliver high-speed fibre broadband to thousands more
homes and businesses in Essex. When combined with plans by the private sector,
this deal should result in around 87% of premises in the county being able to
access fibre broadband by the end of summer 2016.
Mr
Metcalfe has been working with fellow Essex MPs and Essex County Council to
push the deal through. As well as writing letters of support for the project,
Mr Metcalfe has also participated in meetings with relevant parties to secure
the best possible outcome for South Basildon and East Thurrock.
Essex
County Council is contributing £6.46m, with £6.46m coming from the Government’s
Broadband Delivery UK (BDUK) funds, and a further 11.7m from BT.
Mr Metcalfe commented: “This is fantastic news for people in
South Basildon and East Thurrock and across Essex. These upgrades will make a
real difference to Essex residents and in particular, businesses that have
difficulty trading and communicating online because of slow speeds. We want to
grow our economy and create an environment for businesses to thrive and grow
and better broadband is one of the ways this can be achieved.”
Bill Murphy, managing director of next generation access for
BT, added: “This announcement is excellent news for Essex and the next stage of
an exciting journey for the county. In today’s digital world, a fast and
reliable broadband service is vital if the economy is to thrive, helping to
attract new inward investment to Essex and helping local businesses expand.
This in turn will help to stimulate jobs and growth throughout the county. “
Households and businesses in Essex will benefit from a
highly competitive market, bringing greater choice and affordable prices from a
wide range of service providers. It will also boost the competitiveness of
local businesses, helping them to find new customers and operate more
efficiently, whilst opening up a host of new learning and development
opportunities for households.
Engineers for Openreach, BT’s local network division, will
now begin surveying locations around the county and analysing the best way to
roll-out the network and identify which areas of the county will be upgraded
for fibre broadband. There will be a phased approach to the roll-out, with the
first premises currently expected to be upgraded by June 2014.
Mr Metcalfe added: “For further information and to make your
demand for super fast broadband, please visit: www.superfastessex.org.”
