First phase of multi-million Superfast West Yorkshire programme complete

The first phase of Superfast West Yorkshire has now been completed as more than 67,500 households and businesses are able to access fibre broadband speeds as a direct result of the programme.

Since work began in January 2014, hundreds of kilometres of underground fibre optic cable have been laid and 441 new green fibre street cabinets installed in what is one of the largest civil engineering projects undertaken in West Yorkshire in recent years.

Work is already underway on the second phase of the roll-out which will extend fibre coverage to 98% of the programme area. This additional £13m investment will bring fibre broadband speeds within reach of 33,000 homes and businesses across West Yorkshire and York by the end of 2018.

Nearly 850,000 households and businesses in West Yorkshire now have access to high-speed fibre broadband as a result of Superfast West Yorkshire and BT’s own commercial fibre broadband programme.

Bradford Metropolitan District Council, Calderdale Council, Kirklees Council, Leeds City Council, Wakefield Council, and York City Council, are working with BT to extend high-speed fibre broadband to 98% of households and businesses across the majority of West Yorkshire and York by the end of 2018.

In total, £34.74m has been invested in the Superfast West Yorkshire programme. This is made up of Government funding from Broadband Delivery UK and funding from the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), BT and the five West Yorkshire local authorities.

Roger Marsh, chair of the Leeds City Region Enterprise Partnership (LEP), said: “Superfast broadband is no longer a nice to have - it’s a must have for businesses looking to perform their day to day activity and accelerate growth into new and existing markets. That is why the rollout of the digital infrastructure is so crucial if we are to support our businesses grow further and faster.

“I am delighted this second phase of the project will mean that by 2018, we will have enabled 100,000 premises across West Yorkshire and York to have access to superfast broadband speeds, including some business parks and industrial centres that urgently need faster broadband speeds.”

Tom Keeney, BT’s regional director for Yorkshire and the Humber, added: “In just three years the average broadband speed has almost doubled in the five local authority areas of West Yorkshire, with all having now having average speeds of above 24Mbps. There is still more to do and, as well as continuing the roll-out, we are also looking at ways to make existing fibre services go faster and reach further.

“Superfast broadband will help improve access to jobs, allow local companies to compete in the global marketplace, create new opportunities for local people in the way they work, learn and enjoy their leisure time, and help young people make use of educational resources online.”

Looking to promote your product/service to SME businesses in your region? Find out how Bdaily can help →