Broadband News
Electricity poles bring fibre broadband to Welsh village
Tuesday, 27 July 2010
By Garnet Roach garnet@consumerchoices.co.uk
More than a million rural homes could receive high-speed internet following trials to deliver broadband over electricity poles.
The Welsh village of Crumlin, Caerphilly, is the site of a new Virgin Media (www.Virginmedia.com) partnership with Surf Telecoms, a Western Power Distribution company, that will allow the provider to use existing electricity poles to deliver superfast broadband as well its own digital TV services.
Virgin Media began trialling “aerial deployment” of broadband in the Berkshire village of Woolhampton earlier this year. But this latest trial, which will start in August and run into next year, marks the first time that existing infrastructure has been used to bring ultra fast broadband to rural communities outside of Virgin Media’s cable network.
| This innovative new approach that could bring ultrafast broadband to many customers for the first time |
Jon James, executive director of broadband, Virgin Media, said: “We're already bringing broadband speeds of up to 50Mb and, soon 100Mb, to over half of all UK homes and are pushing the boundaries to ensure that homes right across the UK benefit from ultrafast broadband.
“Working in partnership with companies like Surf Telecoms, we can more rapidly and efficiently expand the reach of fibre optic networks to towns, villages and communities right across the UK.”
Virgin Media has already announced plans to extend its fibre optic network, which offers speeds of up to 10Mb, 20Mb and 50Mb broadband, to a further 500,000 new build homes.
Richard Doble, design and policy manager, Surf Telecoms, added: “With this trial, we're exploring an innovative new approach that could bring ultrafast broadband to many customers for the first time. The possibilities of aerial deployment promise a valuable use of existing infrastructure and an interesting new commercial opportunity for utility companies.”
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