Gavin Williamson, MP for South Staffordshire, met with Bill Murphy, Managing Director of Next Generation Access for BT to discuss the ongoing project of rolling out high speed broadband across South Staffordshire.
Gavin held the meeting after numerous delays from BT in regards to the broadband roll-out in South Staffordshire, notably Pattingham, after the third delay of the year. A number of Pattingham constituents had complained after they had received no notification that there would be a further delay.
In discussions regarding Pattingham, BT said that there had been a number of engineering problems when installing the 10 km ‘spine’ which is the fibre optic connection that runs from the cabinets. There were a number of blockages in the installation of the ‘spine’ which has resulted in a number of re-routes and replacement duct. These re-routes would also mean the closure of a number of roads around the area. A significant amount of work has already been completed and the remaining work will be completed with the full support from Staffordshire and Wolverhampton highways teams.
After interventions from the Minister for Broadband Ed Vaizey MP, BT said that the case of South Staffordshire’s broadband is now at the highest level and will ensure that the deliverance date of 30th September 2015, highways dependent, will be met. BT has also said that they would inform residents if there were to be a fourth delay.
Gavin said: “I would like to thank BT for meeting with me to discuss the continuing problems regarding the roll-out of broadband in South Staffordshire. There have been a number of engineering problems to the installation of the broadband cables which have caused a number of delays in the service being rolled out. I understand the frustration of residents when there are a number of delays to the service and I welcome the move by BT to inform customers if there are any future problems.
“Following the meeting I am glad BT have undertaken action to escalate the problem to see if they can to more to deliver broadband to Pattingham earlier than the September date. I am grateful for the update on Pattingham and I am committed to ensuring that the whole of South Staffordshire gets the high speed broadband that they pay for and that they deserve.”
For more information on the current status of fibre broadband in your area visit the superfast fibre broadband availability checker on the Openreach website
http://www.superfast-openreach.co.uk/where-and-when/