UPD Cotswolds Broadband Prep Spring 2016 Rollout in West Oxfordshire

The Cotswolds Broadband project, which last year tendered for a supplier to help roll-out a new mixed Fibre-to-the-Premises (FTTP) and wireless superfast broadband network to rural premises in West Oxfordshire (England), has confirmed that construction will finally get under-way during spring 2016.

A mix of technologies will be used to deliver the broadband including both a pure fibre optic network and, in very remote areas, enhanced wireless connectivity. The aim is that all homes and businesses in the district should be served before the end of 2017. On top of that the new network will also be “open to all commercial communication providers on a wholesale basis.”

The Government has agreed to invest £1.6m in the project (grant) and meanwhile Cotswolds Broadband has been working to secure match funding from the private sector. The West Oxfordshire District Council has also invested £1.6m in the form of a loan, with another £3.2m coming via private investment from ISP Gigaclear.

Hugo Pickering, CEO of Cotswolds Broadband, said:

“Our project will ensure an estimated 6,000 properties, where superfast broadband is not currently available, will have the capability to connect to the Internet at superfast speeds. It will also make West Oxfordshire one of the first wholly superfast broadband-connected districts in the UK.”

Ed Vaizey MP, Digital Economy Minister, added:

“Our rollout of superfast broadband has made great progress, and has already reached an additional 3.5 million homes and businesses that would otherwise have missed out. The transformation of Oxfordshire’s digital landscape is well underway and I’m delighted that another 6,000 local properties will now be able to get superfast speeds as a result of this programme.”

The new project is in addition to the existing Broadband Delivery UK supported scheme with BT (aka – Better Broadband for Oxfordshire), which is working to make superfast broadband available to around 90% of West Oxfordshire homes and businesses by the end of this year. Further coverage details are expected in the near future.

UPDATE 10th Dec 2015 (7:08am)

We’ve had it confirmed that Gigaclear is lining up to become one of the main retail ISP’s across the network and a detailed roll-out plan (down to property level detail) should be ready by around March 2016.