Full Fibre has chosen 11 towns to provide with its fibre optic broadband infrastructure, all of which were found to have been overlooked by other major telecoms providers.
According to the company’s announcement, the locations that will see the majority of premises be able to access its gigabit internet services within the next 12 months are:
- Bayston Hill
- Cam
- Droitwich
- Dursley
- Leominster
- Malmesbury
- Oswestry
- Ross-on-Wye
- Shrewsbury
- Stourport-on-Severn
- Wem
The latest build plans from Full Fibre to provide its services to 100,000 homes and businesses coincide with with Ofcom’s announcement of its regulatory plans to incentivise fibre rollout, and of the Government’s updated plans to invest £5bn in delivering gigabit broadband across the country.
Full Fibre’s announcement follows the 32nd anniversary of the Internet, which commenced last week and saw criticism from its inventor Sir Tim Berners-Lee about the growing ‘digital divide’ in the UK caused by poor investment in new, faster connectivity.
In his annual letter to mark the anniversary, Berners-Lee said too many young people do not have internet access, and the digital divide had widened during the pandemic.
The letter went on to state that internet connectivity is a ‘basic right’, and called on governments to invest to provide universal broadband by 2030.
While gigabit infrastructure across the UK has increased, the majority of this has been delivered in dense urban areas, which has further fueled the urban/rural digital divide.
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“Businesses across Britain, and the amazing people working for them, need access to ultrafast internet connections, at work and at home, to enable them to compete nationally and internationally, but those outside dense urban areas and major cities are being disadvantaged by the lack of investment in their digital infrastructure,” said Oliver Helm, CEO of Full Fibre.
“Full Fibre recognises the national necessity for both residents and businesses to upgrade to ultrafast fibre services, if they are to embrace modern digital services and educational tools.
“These chosen areas are currently restricted to ageing copper connections, not meeting with the needs of modern, homeworking families. It’s vital that everyone in a community gets access to ultrafast, reliable services and the opportunities that come with it.”
