Convergence commentary
The latest articles on the Convergence programme showing the integration of activity, lessons learnt and good practice available here...
Superfast Cornwall broadband programme update
Nigel Ashcroft, Programme Director, for Cornwall Development Company:
“We’ve now moved into the exciting delivery phase of the programme following our launch at the Eden Project on 27th May. Superfast broadband will be available in half of Cornwall’s telephone exchange areas by the autumn of next year.
“Details of where superfast broadband is already available and when it is planned to come to other areas across Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly are now available on our website (www.superfastcornwall.org).
“As well as driving the roll out to people as quickly as possible, our ambition is to get record take up levels of superfast broadband in Cornwall and Isles of Scilly. We’re also starting to develop a business support package to allow high growth businesses to grasp this once in a lifetime opportunity and kick start our local economy.”
Ranulf Scarbrough, Programme Director, BT:
“The engineering challenge is immense. Whilst the broadband that most of us use today is provided by existing copper telephone lines, superfast broadband uses a new technology – fibre optic glass, not much more than a hair’s width - and an infrastructure on this scale has never been built in a rural area anywhere in Europe.
“More than 200 BT engineers will be working until 2014 to lay 130,000km of fibre optic cable - enough to circle the globe three times! Much of this will be laid in underground ducts connecting BT exchanges with homes and businesses.
“Fibre will be run from telephone exchanges across Cornwall and Isles of Scilly either to new green roadside cabinets or directly into customers’ premises. Speeds of up to 40 to 100 Mega bits per second will be possible and potentially much more in the future.
“We expect to bring superfast fibre broadband to at least 80% of people in Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly by 2014 and we are determined to bring faster broadband to everyone else through alternative technologies such as satellite, wireless and improved copper. We’re delighted that the first UK trial of 4G wireless broadband is taking place in Cornwall this Autumn.
“The ambition and scale of this programme is huge, but early take up in pilot areas suggests that once again Cornwall and Isles of Scilly will rise to the challenge.”
