High-speed broadband for Cheshire reaches half-way point

THE £28.5m Connecting Cheshire project to bring fibre broadband to the county has reached the halfway point in its rollout.

Some 40,000 homes and businesses in parts of Cheshire East, Cheshire West and Chester, Halton and Warrington local authority areas can now access the high speed technology by upgrading their connectivity.

The fibre networks have been built by Openreach, BT’s network provider, on behalf of the Connecting CheshirePartnership of the four local authorities and BT, with additional funding from Broadband Delivery UK (BDUK) and the European Union.

Engineers have so far installed more than 200 new roadside cabinets and laid around 400km of fibre optic cable underground in both urban and remote rural areas.

Areas now able to access fibre include:  Cheshire East – Alderley Edge, Disley, Poynton, Plumley and Sutton; Cheshire West and Chester -Burton, Keslall, Kingsley, Sandiway and Weaverham; Halton – Hale, Sandymoor, Manor Park and Widnes. In Warrington, Westbrook, Whittle Hall and Padgate will also be able to upgrade.

Cllr David Brown, deputy leader of Cheshire East Council, said: “We are well on our way to reaching 96%  of premises and bringing a much-needed advantage to the county – both for businesses and home users. 

“I urge everyone to check their availability and upgrade to faster broadband, to shop around for the best deal and take advantage of the real benefits.”

Mike Blackburn, BT’s regional director for the North West, said:  “Cheshire businesses and homes are halfway there and it’s due, in large part,  to the efforts of the Openreach engineers who have worked flat out to make the network available to so many in such a short time.  There is still the other half to complete but soon this vital technology will have connected communities right across Cheshire.”
 
Sir Howard Bernstein, vice chair of the North West European Regional Development Fund local management committee, said: “This programme is already helping local businesses make the most of superfast broadband, improving performance and helping to create and safeguard jobs.