Most haunted village in Britain gets Full Fibre broadband – in time for Halloween
Residents of Pluckley, Kent have now joined the one million homes and businesses across the South East able to upgrade to Openreach’s ultrafast network.
The location, named by the Guinness World Records as the most haunted village in Britain, has been upgraded to Full Fibre broadband thanks to a partnership between local residents, Openreach and the UK Government.
Also famous for being the setting of the much-loved television series, The Darling Buds of May, this picturesque village has a scarier side. While ghosts of “The Screaming Man”, “The Red Lady” and a phantom horse-drawn carriage have been spooking people in Pluckley for decades, one thing no longer horrifying locals is slow broadband speeds.
Locals used the UK Government’s Gigabit Broadband Voucher Scheme, alongside a contribution from Openreach, to help fund the village’s digital transformation.
While some homes in the centre of the village were able to access superfast broadband speeds of around 60 mbps, those living on the outskirts or nearby often found going online was a slow and stuttering experience, with speeds of 10 mbps or worse.
However, the project has transformed Pluckley’s connectivity and more than 600 homes and businesses in the area can now upgrade to ultrafast Full Fibre and enjoy speeds of one gigabit per second (1000 mbps) by taking a service with the provider of their choice on the Openreach network.
Openreach’s Chief Engineer, Andy Whale said, “We’re really pleased with the result we’ve been able to get for Pluckley. Our engineers, local residents and highways authorities worked together to overcome many challenges and it’s a tremendous example of what can be achieved when communities come together for the benefit of everyone.
“Building Full Fibre in rural locations poses a complex engineering challenge, but the residents will benefit for generations to come.
“It’s been one of the biggest Fibre Community Partnerships we’ve done and I’m very proud of what my team has achieved. Pluckley now joins the one million homes and businesses in the South East which can upgrade to Full Fibre; I’d encourage anyone who wants better broadband to check their postcode on our website or look at a Fibre Community Partnership.”
According to Paul Dracott, the community lead who kick-started the project in Pluckley and co-ordinated communications between Openreach and locals, feedback from a large majority of residents has been very positive.
Businesses have said that Full Fibre has transformed their internet use, while home-workers are now able to login easily from the comfort of their own homes, without having to endure long commutes to the office to get acceptable internet access.
Residents are also able to enjoy small pleasures like watching Lockwood & Co on Netflix and Most Haunted on Amazon Prime – simple activities which were difficult before faster broadband speeds.
Meanwhile, extra capacity has been added to the network to ensure any businesses that arrive in the area in the future, as well as newly-built properties, can benefit from the ultrafast speeds.
Minister for Data and Digital Infrastructure, Sir John Whittingdale, said: “No one should be haunted by slow or unreliable broadband. Whether in towns, cities, or rural communities, it’s vital that everyone has access to fast and reliable broadband which unlocks opportunity and fuels growth.
“We're seeing great progress to connect hard-to-reach homes and businesses and I'm delighted to see local residents in Pluckley benefitting from improved connectivity, thanks to our £210 million investment in Gigabit Broadband Vouchers.”
The Openreach network offers the UK’s biggest choice of broadband providers such as BT, Sky, TalkTalk, Vodafone and Zen – which means people have lots of choice and can get a great deal.
A report by the Centre for Economics & Business Research (Cebr) shows that connecting everyone in the South East to Full Fibre broadband would create a £8.7 billion boost to the local economy, by unlocking smarter ways of working, better public services and greater opportunities for the next-generation of home-grown businesses.
Openreach has announced plans to invest in Full Fibre broadband for the majority of premises in 339 exchange areas across the South East, 202 of which will be in the “hardest to reach” parts of the region. It’s part of the company’s plans to reach 25 million UK homes and businesses by the end of 2026.
More than 11 million properties across the UK now have access to Openreach’s Full Fibre network as part of Openreach’s plan to reach 25 million UK homes and businesses with its £15 billion commercial investment by the end of 2026.
