Superfast North Yorkshire unveils fibre broadband plans for thousands more homes and businesses

Next phase of investment will build county’s reputation as “a great place to live and do business”;
A further 34 new locations included in roll-out of super-fast broadband

Superfast North Yorkshire today announced the next phase in their expansion of high-speed fibre broadband in the county, which is expected to help create jobs and give a big boost to the local economy.

More than 24,000 homes and businesses in 34 communities are to be included in the first stages of Superfast North Yorkshire’s multi million pound programme.

The latest North Yorkshire communities to benefit including Pately Bridge, Sleights, Rufforth and Ripon will be upgraded by the end of Summer 2013. There will also be a substantial investment in making fibre broadband more widely available in areas which already have the high-speed technology such as York, Malton, and Dringhouses.

Timothy Kirkhope, MEP for Yorkshire and the Humber, said today that the investment would help to build confidence of an economic recovery among local households and businesses.

It will take the total number of premises with access to fibre broadband in the county to more than 160,000 with Superfast North Yorkshire already set to reach 10,000 homes and businesses not covered by BT’s commercial roll-out by the end of March.

Councillor Carl Les, chairman of Superfast North Yorkshire, said: “Investment in fibre and faster broadband speeds will be a key part of our economic revival as we finally shrug off the effects of the downturn and create a better, more prosperous future.

“Fast, sophisticated communications are the cornerstone of a successful community, helping local people to build their skills and knowledge and encouraging the creation of new businesses and jobs. This exciting technology will transform on-line education, training and leisure for households and enhance the competitiveness of local firms.

“In addition to BT’s commercial roll-out of fibre broadband Superfast North Yorkshire has already announced plans to make fibre broadband available to over 125,000 homes and businesses in our county. Reaching that target is a substantial achievement and we are pleased with the pace of the roll-out which is bringing this exciting technology to more challenging areas in the county.”

Timothy Kirkhope added: “This is very welcome news as we move forward in another challenging year. Local firms and households will be greatly encouraged by such a major investment, which demonstrates that we are making progress even in these tough economic times. It will reinforce North Yorkshire’s strong credentials as a great place to live and do business. High-speed communications have never been more vital in order to succeed in an ever more competitive and connected world.”

Superfast North Yorkshire, a partnership between North Yorkshire County Council and BT, builds on BT’s own commercial roll-out of fibre broadband in the county so that 90 per cent of North Yorkshire’s homes and businesses will have access to fibre broadband by the end of 2014 . Ultra-fast broadband speeds of up to 330Mbps will be available ‘on demand’ wherever fibre broadband has been deployed if North Yorkshire businesses want to upgrade to even faster speeds .

BT’s network is available on an open, wholesale basis to all companies offering broadband services so North Yorkshire households and businesses will benefit from a highly competitive market.

The majority of premises in North Yorkshire will be getting access to some of the best broadband speeds in the country via Superfast North Yorkshire and BT’s associated commercial roll-out. The high speed service will boost the competitiveness of local firms and offer new ways of flexible working, entertainment and learning opportunities for local residents. Fibre broadband gives users the ability to run multiple bandwidth-hungry applications at the same time such as sending and receiving large amounts of data much more quickly and efficiently. At home, fibre broadband enables a family to simultaneously download a movie, watch a TV replay service, surf the internet and play games online all at the same time. A whole album can be downloaded in less than 30 seconds and a feature length HD movie in less than 10 minutes, whilst high-resolution photos can be uploaded to Facebook in seconds.

BT was chosen as the private sector partner in the project following an extensive selection process by the county council. The company is contributing £10 million towards fibre deployment in “non-commercial” areas whilst the county council is using its £17.8 million share of BDUK funds and a further £8.6 million coming from the European Regional Development Fund .

To help businesses in North Yorkshire take advantage of the faster broadband speeds a support service has been put in place to provide free services such as training workshops, skills master classes and business development events. This will demonstrate how faster broadband connections can help to develop business and increase profits by maximising efficiency and productivity. For more information call 0845 0020021 or email: enquiries@sfny.co.uk.

For further information on the Superfast North Yorkshire programme visit www.superfastnorthyorkshire.com


ENDS
Notes to editors

Locations included in today’s announcement:

Beningbrough,
High Bentham
Birstwith
Camblesforth
Clifton
Cloughton
Low Dinsdale
Dunnington
Thorton
Melsonby
Gateforth
Great Ayton
Great Smeaton
Hemingbrough
Melmerby
North Cowton
Oatlands Mount
Osmotherley
Pateley Bridge
Ripon
Rufforth
Sheriff Hutton
Sleights
Snainton
South Milford
Spofforth
Middleton on Leaven
Gate Helmsley
Stillington
Stockton On-Forest
Strensall
Sutton
Topcliffe
Whitwell -On-The-Hill


Due to the current network topography, and the economics of deployment, it is likely that some premises within the selected exchange areas will not initially be able to access fibre-based broadband. Alternative solutions for these locations are being investigated.

About Superfast North Yorkshire

Superfast North Yorkshire was created in July 2012 following the signing of the contract between North Yorkshire County Council and BT, which will see a total fibre broadband investment in the county expected to reach around £70 million.
North Yorkshire is the first county in the UK successfully to deploy Broadband Delivery UK (BDUK) funds, which will be used to extend the roll-out of faster broadband across the county. The project will reach those areas outside of any commercial roll-out using a partnership approach to ensure all communities have access to the fastest possible broadband speeds.
The Superfast North Yorkshire project is part financed by the European Regional Development Fund Programme 2007 to 2013. The Department for Communities and Local Government is the managing authority for the European Regional Development Fund Programme, which is one of the funds established by the European Commission to help local areas stimulate their economic development by investing in projects which will support local businesses and create jobs. For more information visit www.communities.gov.uk/erdf