First Herefordshire area benefits from Fastershire fibre broadband project

Residents from a town in Herefordshire are celebrating being connected to a fibre optic broadband network for the first time under the Fastershire project.

The initiative is a collaboration between service provider BT, Herefordshire Council and Gloucestershire County Council. The market town of Ross-on-Wye has become the first area to benefit from the scheme, with 3,000 properties connected as part of the first phase of the rollout.

It is estimated that another 4,000 homes and businesses in the town will gain access to superfast broadband speeds in the coming month, as the rest of the rollout is completed.

BT today (November 22nd 2013) held an event at a local technology college to mark the switch-on and tell residents a little bit more about the service and its benefits.

Herefordshire Council Cabinet Lead for Broadband Graham Powell said: "Bringing faster broadband to Herefordshire is vital to the county's economic growth and future."

Homes and businesses will now have access to speeds of up to 80Mbps, well above the UK average.