Access to superfast broadband for 5m rural homes on the way
Four of the UK’s biggest communications companies have announced plans to work together to bring superfast broadband services to rural homes across Britain.
IT systems, services and products company, Fujitsu, plans to build the new superfast, fibre optic broadband network, which will be underpinned by technology from Cisco.
The service will be available to customers through internet packages from their service providers. So far Virgin Media and TalkTalk are set to provide the facility, however other companies will be given the opportunity to buy into it.
“The whole of the UK should be able to share in the benefits of broadband and we are determined to make that happen by the end of the Parliament,” stated Minister for Culture, Communications and Creative Industries, Ed Vaizey.
“That is why the Government is investing over £500 million in taking superfast broadband to everyone.”
He also stated that the move would help to improve the economic and social prospects of homes and businesses in the affected areas.
Under the proposals, Fujitsu will run fibre optic cabling directly to the home in the vast majority of areas, rather than to the local street cabinet, allowing speeds of one gigabit (1 Gbps) and the potential to increase to speeds of 10 Gbps and beyond.
“There is a unique opportunity for the UK to re-establish itself as a world leader by having the world’s most advanced fibre network,” said Duncan Tait, CEO of Fujitsu said.
“If done correctly, this can be a key vehicle to accelerate recovery in the UK and bring genuine choice to generations of communities starved of participating fully in the UK economy. We believe our approach, in collaboration with these major industry leaders, will provide a future-proofed network for at least the next 20 to 30 years.”