Fresh broadband boost for Wiltshire residents

Homes and businesses in Wiltshire have been given a further boost after it was announced that Box will be connected to fibre optic broadband by this summer.

The village will follow neighbouring areas such as Neston and Lacock in being set up with speeds of at least 24 Mbps, reports the Wiltshire Gazette and Herald.

These upgrades have come as a result of a county-wide rollout scheme, which is a collaboration between Wiltshire Council and service provider BT.

At a project meeting in Corsham last Thursday (January 23rd), BT programme manager Matt Lloyd explained that the initiative, which has been named Wiltshire Online, is part of a government drive to reduce the gulf in broadband speeds between rural areas and towns and cities.

He said: "We have spent a long time preparing but we are now entering our first installation phase. There are 17,000 metres of cables now in place and we have deployed two cabinets in Corsham."

As essential engineering work continues over the coming weeks and months, other areas that will benefit include Avoncliff and Westwood, near Bradford on Avon.