Cllr Tom Wootton attended a meeting in Colmworth on Friday which focussed on the extension of superfast broadband in Bedford Borough. 

The Council previously agreed to match fund a contribution from the Government to provide 90% of premises in Bedford Borough with superfast broadband (24 Megabits per second (Mbps) or above) and all premises with at least basic speeds (2Mbps).  This scheme is to be extended following the Council’s willingness to match fund a further contribution from the Government of just under £1m to provide at least 95% of premises with superfast speeds.

A number of rural communities were left out of the original scheme but BT Openreach is set to announce in the early part of 2015 which areas will be included in the second phase (ie. to provide 95% of premises with superfast speeds).  The Council is confident that close to 100% of homes will receive superfast broadband once the second phase is completed.

Colmworth was one of the areas omitted from the original scheme and Cllr Wootton is pressing BT for its inclusion in the second phase.  He said:

‘The meeting was encouraging in that the BT representative suggested that superfast broadband in Colmworth is possible given the village’s proximity to a cabinet that is serving Little Staughton which was included in the first scheme.  The village may also benefit from new technology aimed at improving broadband access for remote areas which is currently being trialled. 

‘Faster internet speeds cannot come soon enough for Colmworth residents and businesses so I will continue to do all I can to make the village’s case to BT.’

More information and updates are available on the Council’s website.