Member Article

36.000 homes and businesses benefit from Digital Durham fibre broadband project

One year on from the launch of Durham’s first fibre cabinet 36,000 homes and businesses can now get fibre broadband as a direct result of the project.

A team of more than 100 planners and engineers from BT’s local network business, Openreach, have been busy laying around 200 kilometres of optical fibre cable and installed 235 new fibre broadband cabinets in streets across County Durham, Gateshead and Sunderland.

Digital Durham is a £25 million initiative to transform broadband speeds for businesses and residents across County Durham, Gateshead, Sunderland and the Tees Valley.

In April 2013 a partnership of eight local authorities, including Durham County Council, agreed a deal with BT to extend high-speed fibre broadband availability to around 94 per cent of premises by the end of 2016.

BT’s investment of £5.9 million bolsters the public sector investment, which includes £7.8 million from Durham County Council & Gateshead, £9.1 million Government funding from Broadband Delivery UK (BDUK) and a £1.3 million contribution from public sector partners in Sunderland and Tees Valley.

Already hundreds of residents and small businesses have ordered the new technology and are reaping the benefits of increased broadband speeds.

For freelance video games developer Chris Kirby, having fibre broadband provides a vital link for his business and gives him more free time to spend with his twin four-year old sons.

Chris, who lives in Trimdon Station, said: “My job involves writing games software which means I am uploading some very big files to send to clients based around the world.

“The great thing about fibre broadband is the fast upload speeds. Before I had fibre – uploading a file would take more than an hour – now it takes about ten minutes.

“The gaming industry is fast moving and clients can want updates or changes to things at the last minute. Having superfast speeds means I can easily meet tight deadlines, and turn things around as quickly as they want it.

“I work from home as part of a virtual team of producers, artists and designers based all over the world including Australia, Jordan, Malaysia and the US, so having a reliable fast internet connection is vital.

Cabinet member for Corporate Services, Councillor Jane Brown, said: “It is great to hear stories like Chris Kirby’s where people are already seeing such a difference from upgrading to superfast broadband.

“No doubt many families will see new technology enter the household over this Christmas, so I would urge people to look at whether they too can benefit from faster internet access.”

BT North East regional partnership director, Simon Roberson, added: “Delivering a project of this size is never easy, but our engineers have been working tirelessly to keep everything on track and on time – making fibre broadband available to roughly 1000 new premises every week.

“Investment in fibre and faster broadband speeds will be a key part of this regions’ future economic growth. Broadband is now seen as an essential rather than a luxury.

“Broadband numbers are increasing strongly, not least because people see it as a route to jobs and markets. It provides the cornerstone for prosperous communities – helping local people build their skills and knowledge and encouraging the creation of new businesses and jobs.”