Openreach Choose Cranfield for Rural 5G

Cranfield in Bedfordshire has been chosen by Openreach as one of 13 rural towns and villages to trial the fastest possible broadband service.

20:48 22 October 2019

Openreach has recently released a list of 13 rural towns and villages where it will trial the fastest possible broadband service. The broadband infrastructure supplier confirmed that Cranfield in Bedfordshire is among those that will be used as 5G testbeds in the UK. 

 

Cllr Richard Wenham, executive member for corporate services at Central Bedfordshire Council, said: “This is welcome news and is only made possible by our long-standing investment to bring fibre-optic internet across Central Bedfordshire – a project we began back in 2012.

 

“If the trial is successful, by April next year Cranfield residents and businesses will have access to one gigabit per second download speeds. This is because we subsidised the cost for Openreach in installing a fibre-optic network in the village.

 

“And while most of us may not need that kind of blazing speed immediately, with technologies on the horizon like 8K TV, the trial means Cranfield will be future-proofed.”

 

He added: “In lay terms, you’ve currently got this lightning fast network going past your house but you can only connect with it in a way which slows it right down.

 

“Taking full advantage means laying a new, separate fibre-optic cable to your premises from the nearest part of the existing fibre-optic network.”