Hampshire PSNs deliver fibre broadband to rural communities

Hampshire County Council (HCC) is using public service networks (PSNs) to boost fibre optic broadband connectivity in rural areas.

The county was the first in the UK to hook all schools up to fibre-based broadband infrastructure and has begun rolling out the network to rural residents who could previously only access speeds of up to 500Kbps.

Glyn Paton, manager of HCC's rural broadband project, said the deployment has brought download rates of up to 40Mbps to homes in the village of Little London.

The council chief was involved in the procurement of the PSN and chose the winning bid because it allowed the infrastructure to be utilised by any communications provider.

"Where we are now, the residents of Little London, Hampshire have super-fast broadband, with the choice of 30 different service providers," he added.

At present, just over two-thirds of homes and businesses in the county are able to access next-generation broadband services, according to the latest Ofcom figures.