Broadband partnership connects thousands of firms

A countywide broadband partnership, which has enabled nearly every household and business in Staffordshire to connect to superfast speeds (speeds of up to 80 Mb), has been completed.

The final village - Ellenhall near Stafford - was recently connected thanks to the Superfast Staffordshire programme - a partnership between the county council, the Government 's Building Digital UK (BDUK) and Openreach.

When the programme began in 2013, just 65 per cent of properties were able to connect to faster speeds. Now, more than 97 per cent are able to benefit, with tens of thousands already choosing to do so.

Over the course of the programme, more than 82,500 premises have gained access to superfast speeds, using 650 green roadside cabinets.

However, in recent years, and thanks to advancing technologies, 6,600 premises received an ultrafast full fibre connection which provides gigabit capable speeds of up to 1000mbps.

Staffordshire County Council 's cabinet member for environment, infrastructure and climate change Simon Tagg said:

“As a result of our Superfast Staffordshire programme 97 per cent of county properties can connect to faster broadband speeds so it really has made a difference to our communities.

“Superfast broadband is an essential for everyone 's day-to-day living, enabling people to access health, education, banking and leisure services and more. It is also critical for business operations, growth and increased productivity.

“Our programme has been so important because we are a largely rural county, so needed to connect to those communities to complement commercial provision in our towns. To enable 97 per cent of properties now is a huge success, but we continue to explore other solutions for the final 20,000 premises."