Gareth Davies MP welcomes new plans to make ultra-reliable and gigabit-capable ‘Full Fibre’ (FTTP) broadband available to households and businesses in Bourne.
The improvement to Bourne’s broadband forms part of Openreach’s strategy to bring Full Fibre broadband to three million homes and businesses in some of the UK’s hardest to serve communities, over the next three years.
These locations will be upgraded by Openreach, without taxpayer subsidy, and it is hoped having access to some of the fastest broadband speeds in Europe will boost Bourne and Britain’s post-Covid economic recovery.
The build to 3.2m UK premises forms part of a massive £12 billion investment which will support Openreach’s ambition to build ‘Full Fibre’ infrastructure to 20 million premises throughout the UK by the mid-to-late 2020s – delivering significant economic, social and environmental benefits for rural and urban communities, assuming the right regulatory and political fibre enablers are in place.
There are clear economic, social and environmental benefits to building full fibre in rural areas. A report by the Centre for Economics & Business Research (Cebr) – “ Full fibre broadband: A platform for growth” has revealed that with a future-proof and reliable fibre connection to every property by 2025:
- UK productivity would be boosted by £59 billion each year
- At least 400,000 more people could work from home, allowing them to live and work where they choose
- 300 million commuting trips could be saved each year, with three billion fewer kilometres travelled by car – which would lead to an annual reduction in CO2 emissions of 360,000 tonnes.
Commenting, Gareth Davies MP said: “This Government was elected on the promise to upgrade the whole of the UK with gigabit-capable broadband by 2025 - with the help of Openreach we are delivering.”
“Under coronavirus we have seen the essential importance of fast and reliable broadband to connect us to friends, family and business, sustaining our relationships and our economy.”
“Coming out of this crisis we need fast internet if we want a fast recovery - Openreach’s investment in Full Fibre broadband will give us exactly that.”
“I’m confident that Full Fibre broadband will help to enrich the lives of the people of Bourne and turbo-charge our businesses, providing us with increased connectivity for decades to come.”
