Swindon homes missing out on Full Fibre
More than 75,000 homes and businesses in Swindon are now able to order some of the fastest, most reliable broadband in Europe, thanks to a multi-million pound investment by Openreach.
The company has spent more than £22 million so far to build the new ultrafast, ultra-reliable Full Fibre network in Swindon.
The new technology is up to 16 times faster than the average UK broadband connection and around five times more reliable than the old copper-based network it’s replacing – but thousands of residents have yet to upgrade.
Martin Williams, Openreach’s partnership director for the West, said: “Research shows that this new network will give businesses an edge and provide families and home-workers with future-proof connectivity.
“Ultrafast broadband can have a huge impact on people’s lives and it’s great for the economy but upgrades aren’t automatic. People need to place an order with their chosen providers to get connected and we’ll do the rest. Our network offers the widest choice of providers such as BT, Sky, TalkTalk, Vodafone and Zen – which means people have lots of choice and can get a great deal.
“Even if you already have a decent enough service, it’s worth checking if you can upgrade, because full fibre is the future, and it provides the best broadband experience at great value for money. There’ll be no more worrying that your video call might freeze, or your files are failing to upload when everyone’s at home competing for bandwidth at the same time.”
Residents can enjoy a host of online services and entertainment, with seamless streaming and smooth online gaming. The technology also supports day-to-day, business critical tasks like video calls, banking and online customer interactions.
A report by the Centre for Economics & Business Research (Cebr) shows that connecting everyone in the south west to Full Fibre broadband would create a £4.3 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. The report also revealed that 42,000 people in the region could be brought back into the workforce through enhanced connectivity – including in small businesses and through entrepreneurship.
Openreach plans to reach 25 million UK homes and businesses by the end of 2026.
[1] Investment figure based on an average build cost of £300 per premises
[2] Median averages more accurately reflect the experience of consumers, as average performance is not distorted by a comparatively small number of very fast connections. This approach is in line with the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) and the Committee of Advertising Practice (CAP)’s guidance on broadband speed claims
