South Gloucestershire enters fibre broadband partnership

Fibre optic broadband could be available in rural South Gloucestershire sooner than expected after the district council entered into a partnership with local authorities in Wiltshire and Swindon.

The bodies have banded together in order to sign up a commercial telecoms firm capable of delivering the infrastructure required to achieve their super-fast broadband plans.

Bids for the work will be invited from spring 2012, with the winning applicant set to be confirmed in the summer, allowing installation of the fibre broadband network to commence by next December.

John Thomson, deputy leader and cabinet member for communities at Wiltshire Council, said: "We are really pleased to be working together on this; jointly sharing expertise, keeping costs down and ultimately providing better internet access for all our residents."

Further north in Gloucestershire, BT recently announced that the exchanges in Gloucester and Barnwood will be upgraded to offer fibre optic broadband connectivity in the coming months.

The company is aiming to cover two-thirds of properties with its super-fast broadband service by the end of 2014.