Residents and businesses in Hayes and Uxbridge are the first in the borough set to benefit from ultrafast, ultra-reliable internet connections following a multi-million pound investment in ‘Full Fibre’ broadband by Openreach.
The digital network company is currently building new infrastructure across the borough. A mammoth project, it’s been made possible after Openreach invested in major upgrades at its exchanges in Hayes and Uxbridge.
Hundreds of borough businesses and tens of thousands of homes can already order the faster, more reliable connections from a range of competing service providers that use Openreach’s network.
Full Fibre can deliver speeds of up to 1 Gigabit and beyond – that’s 15 times faster than average speeds today. The government estimates that digital traffic is set to increase by 25 per cent to 40 per cent in the near future, so those better connections will help local businesses and town centres recover more quickly post-pandemic and help attract vital footfall to the borough’s commercial centres.
Additionally, the fibre optic cables aren’t affected by bad weather and are far less likely to slow down, or ‘drop out’ like existing broadband connections might.
The growing relationship between Hillingdon Council and Openreach was marked by a symbolic ‘splicing’ of a fibre optic cable at the Hayes exchange by Leader of the Council, Cllr Ian Edwards on Wednesday (26 May).
Cllr Edwards said: “Residents and businesses need and deserve the best possible connections, so we’re grateful for Openreach’s investment and delighted to work with them to make Hillingdon a far better-connected borough.
“It’s fascinating to see how these tiny glass wires can shape our daily lives. As we become increasingly reliant on internet connections, much like we rely on other household utilities, providing the best possible network ensures residents and businesses can thrive.
“We are developing a new digital strategy as we know there is further work to be done to help support those residents who are digitally excluded and to enable borough businesses to innovate. This partnership with Openreach is a key step in enabling us to build better connected communities.”
A map of Openreach’s commercial plans in Hillingdon is available to view on their website at www.openreach.com/fibre-broadband/fibre-first.
