South,
23
January
2023
|
16:47
Europe/Amsterdam

Thousands across Torbay missing out on better broadband

More than 55,000 Torbay homes – around 70% - can now access ultrafast Full Fibre

Openreach van at Paignton, Devon

Only around 18 per cent of people who can upgrade to ultrafast Full Fibre across Torbay have done so – with thousands still missing out on faster, more reliable broadband services.

People living and working across the Bay are being encouraged to find out more about faster broadband – as the latest figures show that Openreach’s Full Fibre network – used by the likes of BT, Sky, TalkTalk, Vodafone and Zen – is now available to more than 55,000 premises.

Following a £16 million-pound local investment, engineers have been busy building the network to make ultrafast speeds of up to one gigabit per second (Gbps) available to people living and working in places such as Torquay, St Marychurch, Shiphay, Chelston, Brixham and Paignton.

As well as being faster, Full Fibre broadband provides more reliable, resilient and future-proof connectivity, with fewer faults; more predictable, consistent speeds; and enough capacity to use multiple devices at once.

Packages from a wide range of broadband providers are increasingly competitively priced, meaning people may pay similar, or even less, per month than their current bill for a much-improved service.

Martin Williams, Openreach’s regional director for the South West, said: “Fast and reliable Full Fibre broadband gives households and businesses a boost as they continue to live and work through the pandemic. It can have a huge impact on people’s daily lives and it’s great for the economy too.

“The important thing to remember is that upgrades don’t happen automatically. People need to contact, and place orders through, their broadband provider to take advantage.”

“Our engineering build continues across the South West and we’re determined to deliver a great service to residents, helping people to work from home easily and build connections and opportunities in their communities. This network’s also future proof so it’ll work for decades, no matter how much bandwidth we need and what life throws at us next.”

Once somebody places an order with a service provider, an Openreach engineer will visit on an agreed day. They’ll run a new fibreoptic cable from underground or a nearby pole to a small junction box on the outside wall of the premises. A smaller cable goes through the outside wall to an inside unit - which needs to be near a double electricity socket. Before they leave, the engineer will test the connection to make sure it’s up and running.

Openreach has announced plans to invest in Full Fibre broadband for the majority of premises in dozens of towns and villages across the South West, including Dartmouth, Newton Abbot, Teignmouth and Totnes. It’s part of the company’s plans to reach 25 million UK homes and businesses by the end of 2026. This short video explains what full fibre technology is and you can find out more about our build programme here.

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.