Witney News - Working to secure high-speed broadband for rural West Oxfordshire

Working to secure high-speed broadband for rural West Oxfordshire

The District Council is exploring options to secure better high-speed broadband coverage for rural West Oxfordshire.

Leader Cllr Barry Norton has announced that he wants the Council to look at possible ways to invest funding to improve faster coverage for more parts of the District for the benefit of residents and businesses.

Oxfordshire County Council has been working on a ‘Better Broadband’ project and recently appointed BT as its commercial partner to bring £25m of improvements to high-speed broadband coverage across the county.

In West Oxfordshire, the improvements will mean 88% of premises in the District would be served by high-speed broadband.

Speaking at a meeting of the Council yesterday (Wednesday 23 October), Cllr Norton said he believed that support should be given to extend coverage, where possible, to parts of the District not covered in the existing contract “as this will bring huge benefits to the local economy in rural West Oxfordshire where many people work from home or run local businesses.”

He told members that there was an option under the countywide scheme for district councils to work with BT to extend their coverage, but that the Council would explore all options.

A meeting will take place with the county council and BT next month to examine further possibilities for improvements within the ‘Better Broadband’ project, and West Oxfordshire District Council members will be kept up-to-date with progress.