Aughton and Ormskirk to benefit from full fibre
Some of the fastest, most reliable broadband services in the UK are heading to Lancashire, after Aughton and Ormskirk were named amongst 29 new locations to benefit from Openreach’s nationwide investment programme
Work to build new future-proof Fibre-to-the-Premises (FTTP) technology, where fibre is laid all the way from the exchange to people’s front doors, is set to get underway by the end of next year, once engineers have carried out detailed planning and survey work.
Full fibre or ultrafast broadband provides more reliable, resilient and future-proof connectivity; fewer faults; more predictable, consistent speeds and the ability to upgrade easily to meet the demands of future technology.
Kim Mears, Openreach’s managing director for Strategic Infrastructure Development, said: “We’re looking forward to bringing future proof broadband infrastructure to thousands of homes and businesses across Aughton and Ormskirk. Our engineers are about to begin detailed survey work and we plan to start building the network in around a years’ time. Our intention is to build quickly, efficiently and with minimal disruption to people living and working in both locations.”
The new network in Aughton and Ormskirk will benefit both residents and businesses. The technology gives users the ability to use and manage multiple bandwidth hungry devices at the same; from TV’s to fridges to central heating, lighting and security cameras, helping people to run their homes more efficiently.
Businesses can also benefit from cloud-based services, making efficiency improvements and cost savings through improved online sales and marketing and better online ordering and invoicing systems. Video conferencing and the ability to access company systems remotely enables more businesses to offer flexible and homeworking options for employees which can save money, reduce carbon footprints and improve work/life balance.
Openreach’s commitment to the North West extends far beyond making better broadband available. Around 3,450 Openreach people live and work in the region, and since the end of last year we’ve recruited more than 300 new fibre apprentice engineers.
Last month Openreach opened a new £1.7 million training centre in Bolton to educate the next generation of digital engineers bringing vital broadband services to communities across the North West and beyond. More than 2,500 engineers and new recruits will be trained in the first year with that number expected to grow.
Since the launch of Openreach’s multi-billion pound ‘Fibre First’ programme in February last year, its engineers have deployed around 2.6 million kilometres of fibre – enough to travel to the moon and back three times.
Overall, 103 locations across the UK are now part of the ‘Fibre First’ build programme, including Manchester, Liverpool, Bury, The Wirral, Stockport and Salford, and as a result, more than 1.8 million homes and businesses now have access to faster, more reliable and future-proof, full fibre broadband services over the Openreach network.
The company is making full fibre technology available to more than 22,000 homes and businesses every week and it’s on track to reach four million premises by the end of March 2021. It wants to reach 15 million and ultimately the majority of the UK if the conditions are right to invest.
Openreach will publish the information on its website here detailing its ’Fibre First’ build plans for the next 18 months. The website also includes details of the specific exchanges were FTTP is currently being built, has already been built, or where building will start within the next three months.
This short video explains what full fibre technology is. Find out more about our Fibre First programme here. People interested in upgrading their broadband can see what’s available in their area by entering their postcode into Openreach’s online fibre checker.
