Govt grant to boost fibre broadband access in south Northants

Abthorpe Broadband Association (ABbA) has won a bid made to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, securing £117,914 worth of funds to boost broadband speeds from 2Mbps to up to 500Mbps in five south Northamptonshire villages.

The move has been met with great excitement as residents in Abthorpe, Slapton, Wappenham, Weedon Lois and Weston had found that even attaching photos to emails or streaming films was difficult on the former sluggish speeds, reports the Bicester Advertiser & Review.

Despite plans by Northamptonshire Country Council to improve broadband services across 90 per cent of the county, the not-for-profit organisation ABbA - which comprises members from Abthorpe and Slapton - was forced to take matters into its own hands and act on behalf of all of the aforementioned villages, after realising that the initiative would not have included any of them.

According to the organisation's website, the imminent upgrades will enable inhabitants to use streaming services such as iPlayer, which was previously not possible, as well as browse the internet far quicker than before.

It added: "It will also mean that we can keep up with all the advances in broadband for many years to come."