Ultrafast fibre was the main item on the menu at a business breakfast briefing hosted by Openreach’s chief executive, Clive Selley, and Greater Birmingham Chambers of Commerce.
The event at Chamber House was attended by around 20 business and civic leaders, academics and representatives of other key organisations, including Andy Street, Mayor of the West Midlands, who welcomed news about the latest developments.
Under the banner ‘Delivering for Birmingham’, Clive confirmed the roll-out of ultrafast fibre broadband was well under way, with the first 100 or so homes and businesses in Great Barr and Kings Norton now able to order an upgrade, and that work was progressing well elsewhere in the city.
He also explained how Sutton Coldfield, Streetly and Moseley had been chosen to pilot two important projects, designed to improve and speed up the way ultrafast broadband is delivered.
Clive added that the deployment of the new Fibre to the Premises (FTTP) technology was being planned to support other important local projects, like preparations for the 2022 Commonwealth Games, expansion of the Midland Metro tram network and new housing projects, as well as focussing on areas of the city with the slowest broadband speeds.
Bridget Blow, Chamber Council member and former Chamber president, said: “It’s brilliant news Openreach has selected Birmingham as one of the first cities in the UK to benefit from its ‘Fibre First’ programme. Good, reliable digital connectivity is crucial for businesses in this modern era.”
