Steve Brine has warmly welcomed news that thousands more Hampshire homes and businesses, in particular in Twyford, are in line for a super-fast broadband boost.
BT announced last week a further major investment in Hampshire, pledging to roll-out its £2.5 billion high-speed fibre broadband network to 33,000 more homes and businesses. In addition to Twyford, other areas across the region set to benefit in 2013 include Hayling Island, Petersfield and Rownhams.
The news was welcomed by Hampshire County Council who said it would bring a boost for businesses, internet users and the local economy, with potential to create new enterprises and local jobs.
The latest investment will take the total number of homes and businesses in Hampshire able to connect to the fibre network to nearly 600,000. More than 400,000 already have access in upgraded areas, including parts of Basingstoke, Southampton, Winchester, Eastleigh and Portsmouth, and BT is keen to bring more communities within reach by working with the public sector.
John Weaver, BT's South East regional director, said: "Fibre broadband opens up a whole new, high speed world. This latest major investment will help Hampshire to overcome the current economic challenges and take full advantage of the upturn when it comes.
"Digital technology is fundamental to how we live and work – and in an increasingly connected world, high-speed communications will become even more essential in the years ahead. Research suggests fibre broadband could give a £143 million boost to a typical town's economy and create 225 new jobs and 140 new businesses within 15 years.
"The fibre broadband network we're building today will underpin the local economy for many years to come – and we're keen to go further, working with the public sector to take technology to places outside current commercial roll-out plans.
"The arrival of fibre broadband in each of these new locations will revolutionise the way people use the internet for work, education and connecting with public services."
Councillor Ken Thornber, Leader of Hampshire County Council, said: "Hampshire County Council welcomes BT's announcement of further investment in the county's broadband infrastructure. This technology will be of great benefit to the increasing number of households and businesses in these areas who use the internet for work, shopping, entertainment and leisure. Hampshire County Council wants to encourage people to sign up to its broadband campaign so that more people understand the benefits that faster broadband can bring and will take up this exciting technology as it becomes available in their communities."
Twyford MP Steve Brine said: "I have been in contact with a number of Twyford constituents in the past two years who, quite rightly, were demanding a better service from BT and access to the kind of broadband speeds people just three miles up the road in the city have enjoyed for years.
"We put a lot of pressure on BT and it is to their credit they have responded so positively although I would strongly urge them to do this work at the start of 2013 and not let this drag on any further."
BT's local network business Openreach is making fibre broadband available to around two-thirds of UK homes and businesses on a commercial basis by the end of 2014 using a mix of fibre to the cabinet (FTTC) and fibre to the premises (FTTP) technologies. More than 11 million premises can already access fibre broadband and that number is growing all the time.
Both technologies offer speeds many times faster than the current UK average, reported by the regulator Ofcom to be 9Mbps. FTTC, where fibre is delivered to new street cabinets, offers download speeds of up to 80Mbps and upload speeds of up to 20Mbps.
FTTP, where fibre runs all the way to homes and businesses, offers a variety of download speeds with the current top speed being 330Mbps. From Spring 2013 BT aims to make speeds of 330Mbps3 available on demand in any area where FTTC has been deployed.
Internet users with a fibre broadband connection can do much more online, all at the same time. A family can download a movie, watch a TV replay service, surf the net and play games online simultaneously. 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.
The upload speeds are the fastest widely available to consumers in the UK, with large video and data files being sent almost instantly and hi-resolution photos posted online in seconds. And high quality voice and video calls mean businesses can keep in touch with customers while they cut down on travel.
More information...
For further information on Openreach's fibre broadband programme visit www.superfast-openreach.co.uk