Staffordshire Celebrates 90 Percent Superfast Broadband Coverage

The Superfast Staffordshire project in the West Midlands (England), which includes Stoke-on-Trent, has today announced that 90% of premises in the county should be able to order a superfast broadband (24Mbps+) service.

The existing roll-out currently aims to make BT’s “fibre broadband” (FTTC/P) network available to 97% of local homes and businesses (roughly 476,000 premises in total), which equates to 95% being able to access “superfast” speeds of 24Mbps+ by 2017. So far around 80,000 additional homes and businesses in the area have benefited from the project and many more will follow.

County Councillor Mark Winnington said:

“Hitting the 80,000 property mark is a significant milestone for the Superfast Staffordshire project as it means we’re well on the way to our target. When completed, 95 per cent of Staffordshire properties, around 476,000, will be able to connect either through our scheme or commercial roll-out.

This is making a real difference to people and businesses across the county, boosting opportunities for all. Thousands of people have got themselves connected to superfast fibre broadband and we’d urge everyone to consider doing the same – they just need to ask their internet provider in the first instance.”

It’s worth pointing out that the Phase 1 contract should ultimately cover around 88,000 premises, with a further 4,000 set to follow as part of a second Superfast Extension Programme (SEP) contract. BT has also proposed to return £2.4m through Clawback, which could help extend the coverage to even more areas in the future.