Community Fibre Rollout Boosting Borough’s Internet Connectivity
Over 14,000 properties connected in £6 million investment
Cllr Rajawat visits Boulton House on Brentford Towers estate to learn more about the Community Fibre broadband installation
A £6 million broadband investment in the borough of Hounslow has resulted in a significant increase in the number of households with faster internet connections.
The Council’s partnership with Community Fibre yields has enabled over 14,200 properties and community to benefit from increased speeds.
Hounslow Council signed a non-exclusive wayleave agreement with Community Fibre in March 2021. This gave the company access to council-owned properties to install cabling.
The work will continue in the Hounslow West area with another 3,400 properties due to be connected by the end of 2022. The offer will be widely promoted including through Community Solutions, the Council’s overarching approach to early help and prevention, and the Hounslow Connect Digital Platform.
Community Fibre is also currently the only broadband provider which doesn’t ask customers to provide proof of eligibility from those wanting to access a social tariff. Its Essential 10 Mbps package is available to anyone who needs support staying connected online during the cost-of-living crisis.
The agreement with Community Fibre was reached to improve connectivity rates in the borough and tackle digital exclusion. Since works began last year, full fibre connections have increased from 13.6 per cent to 37.2 per cent. In the Feltham and Heston parliamentary constituency this rise has been even more dramatic with connections increasing from 8.5 per cent to 44.5 per cent in just one year.
Last week, the Council’s Cabinet approved the progress and updates to the Council’s Digital Strategy. Since being first approved in March 2020, the strategy has encouraged libraries to become digital data hubs, delivering over 1300 recycled laptops and desktops to people in need and provided skills workshops and improving online access to Council services.
Councillor Shantanu Rajawat, Leader of Hounslow Council, said, “Digital inclusivity is the main aim of the Council’s Digital approach, ensuring communities are connected and inclusive with no one being left behind. During the pandemic, we identified the problems affecting our residents and have implemented real changes to residents’ lives, ensuring they are connected through fast broadband services and have the skills necessary to succeed in the digital age, which has become more important than ever.
“Tackling digital exclusion is one of the many ways we are reducing inequality in the borough. We’ve made huge uplifts to the areas that needed it the most in areas such as Feltham and Heston.
“Digital Inclusion has three key elements, skills, access, and affordability, whether that means us stepping in to provide the equipment and infrastructure to get people connected or working with our community and voluntary sector partners to deliver training and support including through our Community Solutions approach, we are committed to improving our residents’ quality of life.”
Cllr Rajawat meets with the Community Fibre team at Boulton House on Brentford Towers estate
Graeme Oxby, CEO of Community Fibre, added, “At Community Fibre, we believe that everyone should have access to the best internet to ensure growth and greater opportunities for all. We are pleased to be working with Hounslow Council to bring London’s fastest internet to its residents at the best prices, as we continue to accelerate our full fibre rollout to facilitate better internet for everyone supported by our Community Investments and Digital Ambassadors programme.”
Landlords who want their properties in Hounslow upgraded can get in touch with Community Fibre via landlords@communityfibre.co.uk or visit www.communityfibre.co.uk.
Like Reading Articles Like This? Help Us Produce More This site remains committed to providing local community news and public interest journalism. Articles such as the one above are integral to what we do. We aim to feature as much as possible on local societies, charities based in the area, fundraising efforts by residents, community-based initiatives and even helping people find missing pets. We’ve always done that and won’t be changing, in fact we’d like to do more. However, the readership that these stories generates is often below that needed to cover the cost of producing them. Our financial resources are limited and the local media environment is intensely competitive so there is a constraint on what we can do. We are therefore asking our readers to consider offering financial support to these efforts. Any money given will help support community and public interest news and the expansion of our coverage in this area. A suggested monthly payment is £8 but we would be grateful for any amount for instance if you think this site offers the equivalent value of a subscription to a daily printed newspaper you may wish to consider £20 per month. If neither of these amounts is suitable for you then contact info@neighbournet.com and we can set up an alternative. All payments are made through a secure web site. One-off donations are also appreciated. Choose The Amount You Wish To Contribute. If you do support us in this way we’d be interested to hear what kind of articles you would like to see more of on the site – send your suggestions to the editor. For businesses we offer the chOctober 27, 2022. For £30 plus VAT per month you will be the designated sponsor of at least one article a month with your logo appearing if supplied. If there is a specific community group or initiative you’d like to support we can make sure your sponsorship is featured on related content for a one off payment of £50 plus VAT. All payments are made through a secure web site. |
October 27, 2022
