Wiltshire Council makes £35.6m deal with BT

Wiltshire Council has announced its £35.6m deal with BT for internet access in 91% of their premises. 

Internet access will be available in many Wiltshire Council premises which will see the latest in internet technology being installed by March 2016. 

The project is set to benefit around 104,000 homes and businesses across the county and in South Gloucestershire. 

Following contract signing, the project plans will be mapped out this Autumn. 

This is the latest partnership to be announced under the Government's Broadband Delivery UK programme. The funding for this project breaks down as follows: £4.6m from the government programme, £15.5m from Wiltshire Council, £2m from South Gloucestershire Council, £12.6m from BT and £0.74m from the European Regional Development Fund.

John Thomson, Cabinet Member for Communities said: "This project will really put the county on the map, attracting more businesses, helping existing ones grow and enabling rural properties to become less isolated."

Councillor John Goddard, the Chair of South Gloucestershire Council's Resources Sub-Committee said: "We are delighted to have signed the contract with BT and our partners at Wiltshire Council to bring super fast broadband to thousands of homes and businesses."

The new technology will see faster file storage, computer back-up and processing as well as transforming the internet experience to residents speeding up downloading speeds and image sharing.