A recent survey from bOnline has shown that many SMEs are unsure about the availability of altnet in their area, with confusion over the UK’s broadband roll-out strategy.
Fri, 9/02/2024 - 11:43
Openreach engineers In Northumberland have upgraded The Pennines Wildlife & Rescue Sanctuary, which has struggled with slow broadband speeds since moving to the foothills of the Pennines.
Having tried upgrading existing copper infrastructure, the local Openreach team decided that the only solution was an upgrade to full fibre broadband.
Tony Johnson, the charity’s founder, is ex-armed forces and suffers from PTSD. He said: “Faster broadband will help us raise our online profile which will also hopefully raise the numbers of donations we receive.
“Most importantly though we can now instantly research care methods for different species of animals we rescue immediately without needing to leave the sanctuary.”
The sanctuary also works with the RSPB to boost native bird populations.
Alongside the charity, nearly 80 other premises have benefitted from the rollout which included running more than eight kilometres of fibre optic cable through rugged countryside, mainly during the Winter months.
Micheal Sowiak, Openreach’s Northumberland Fibre Build manager, said: “As locations go this is about as rural as it gets in Northumberland so it’s a great achievement to get there, with the added bonus of upgrading nearly 80 other homes and businesses along the way.”
