Shropshire and BT sign £24.6m fibre broadband deal

Over the course of the next three years, around 90 per cent of Shropshire homes and businesses are set to benefit from high-speed fibre broadband as a result of a new deal between Shropshire Council and BT.

The £24.6 million Connecting Shropshire project will allow more than 130,000 premises to have broadband speeds of up to 80Mbps by the end of spring 2016, while all homes and businesses covered by the project will receive a minimum speed of 2Mbps.

Furthermore, during the installation stage, BT may test new fibre innovations and other broadband technologies designed to boost speeds even further. 

George Candler, commissioning director for Shropshire Council, said: "We look forward to working closely with BT over the coming years to ensure people start seeing the benefits of faster broadband even in the remote, rural parts of our county."

Communications Minister Ed Vaizey added that even though Shropshire is one of the most rural areas in the UK, super-fast broadband is just as important to its communities as it is elsewhere.