No Ultrafast Broadband for Shropshire

BT Openreach unable to find an afforable way to upgrade cabinets in Shrewbury, Bridgnorth and Ludlow.

07:46 15 May 2020

Around 2,000 residents in Shropshire will not have access to super-fast broadband as confirmed by BT Openreach. 

 

The universal broadband provider said it is unable to find an affordable way to upgrade its cabinets in the towns. Industry watchdog defines 'affordable' as a service hosting costing no more than £46.10/month. 

 

Shrophsire Council's Connecting Shropshire programme manager Chris Taylor said: "It is the council's understanding that there are a number of broadband cabinets in Ludlow and Shrewbury that Openreach had planned to upgrade through their own investment. 

 

"As a result, these cabinets have never been the responsibility of our programme.

 

"Openreach have not delivered on these despite repeated assistance, most recently in October 2019. 

 

"As a result, over 1,800 premises served by these cabinets have been unable to order a superfast broadband connection off the BT Openreach network. This has left many residents disappointed and frustrated." 

 

BT Openreach spokesman Chris Jones said: "With new technologies and ways of working being introduced all the time, we often re-visit areas yet to be upgraded - such as these last few cabinets in Ludlow, Shrewbury and Bridgnorth - to see if we can find an affordable and practical solution. 

 

"We've not managed to do so yet, but locations such as these are still very much on our radar."