BT and the EU have teamed up for the biggest roll-out of fibre-optic cable the UK has ever seen. Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly will have super-fast broadband by 2014 as the UK moves towards connecting neglected rural areas to the Web.
BT and the European Union are splitting the £132m bill for the project. BT is putting up £78m, while the EU's European Regional Development Fund stumps up £53m. The project will be divided between next-generation fibre to the home (FTTH), and slower fibre to the cabinet (FTTC).
BT bigwig Ian Livingston announced the project while standing on Fistral Beach. Because it's a surfer's beach, d'y'see? You surf the waves in Cornwall, and now you can surf the Web too! Laugh? We nearly paid our phone bill.
The Cornish project could serve as a blueprint for reaching the 30 per cent of the country not currently figuring in plans for super-fast broadband -- or for those rural areas that don't receive broadband at all.
The news comes hard on the heels of a Virgin Media announcement that all cable-broadband customers will benefit from a free upload speed boost.
Be respectful, keep it civil and stay on topic. We delete comments that violate our policy, which we encourage you to read. Discussion threads can be closed at any time at our discretion.