Bucks council chief hails govt fibre broadband cash

A Buckinghamshire council chief has welcomed government support for the county's fibre optic broadband proposals.

Bucks Business First (BBF), backed by Buckinghamshire County Council, is aiming to deliver super-fast broadband speeds to more than 90 per cent of homes and businesses in the area via a combination of wireless and fibre-based technology.

Government body Broadband Delivery UK has confirmed it will contribute £2 million towards the initiative, with council leader Martin Tett hailing the grant.

"The development of broadband is critical for supporting the growth of our economy and it's good for our efforts to focus on the creation of new jobs," he remarked.

According to BBF, 46,000 properties in Buckinghamshire are located in broadband notspots or can only receive speeds of less than 2Mbps at present, while recent figures from Ofcom revealed the area's average broadband speed is 6.4Mbps.

The county is set to join forces with Hertfordshire to accelerate the plans by combining procurement processes and creating a joint project team.