Bromley Council has signed a charter with Openreach to support a faster rollout of ultrafast full fibre broadband to homes and businesses.
The partnership agreement follows Openreach’s aim to connect tens of thousands of homes and businesses in the borough and is part of a multi-million-pound investment to improve digital infrastructure, bringing ultrafast connectivity to much of the borough.
The charter, which is the first of its kind signed by a London authority, sets out commitments made by both the Council and Openreach, with the purpose of speeding up the delivery of Openreach’s Full Fibre deployment plans throughout Bromley.
The council says commitments in the charter such as allowing for the application of retrospective highways permits,will grant Openreach the ability to streamline their planned works and ultimately allow them to connect more premises in less time.
Councillor Peter Morgan, executive councillor for renewal, recreation and housing said: “Fast and reliable internet connections are absolutely key for residents and businesses across the borough, with our experience in the pandemic underlining this even more.
Cllr Morgan, the Mayor of Bromley, Councillor Gray and Openreach's Kieran Wines
“Demand and need are set to increase and we welcome Openreach’s investment, with work already underway. The scale of the task is significant and by working in partnership and streamlining our processes where we can, we are maximising what can be achieved, to the benefit of everyone.”
Kieran Wines, partnership director for London and the South East at Openreach, said: “Great connectivity has never been more important and Openreach is investing in ultrafast Full Fibre – the best broadband infrastructure you can get in the UK – in Bromley.
“The Digital Charter we’ve agreed with Bromley Council will help us build faster and further, reaching more homes and businesses with this new gold standard network. We look forward to the next stage of the journey and continuing our close working relationship with Bromley Council.”
Much of the work will be focussed on rewiring, replacing copper wiring with fibre-optic cabling, meaning that digging and associated disruption will be kept to a minimum.
To help ensure disruption is limited, the charter provides the council with assurances from Openreach to “carefully consider residential amenity and reduce noise and disruption as much as practical” for when undergoing occasional construction works.
To find out whether Full Fibre is available at your home or business, check your postcode on www.openreach.com.
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