Greg has welcomed Openreach's announcement that Tunbridge Wells is to be included in its First Fibre programme which will see the town's fibre-optic infrastructure greatly upgraded over the course of the next 18 months. The announcement comes after Greg met with the Chief Executive of Openreach, Clive Selley, to press for urgent upgrades across the constituency.
In a letter to Greg, Openreach said:
Dear Greg,
I’m pleased to share with you that Openreach, the UK’s digital infrastructure business, is this morning announcing that Tunbridge Wells is one of the new locations to benefit from new, future-proof Fibre-to-the-Premises (FTTP) broadband technology. Work will start in the next 18 months.
Full fibre or ultrafast broadband will provide more reliable, resilient and future-proof connectivity for your constituents, with fewer faults; more predictable, consistent speeds and the ability to upgrade easily to meet the demands of future technology. Ultrafast broadband makes everything happen much more quickly, benefitting families at home, pupils and teachers in schools and helping local businesses, including small businesses, to remain economically competitive all over the UK and around the world.
In response Greg said: "Openreach's decision to include Tunbridge Wells in its Fibre First programme is extremely good news and will see a great number of my constituents hugely benefit from the latest broadband technology. However, there a still parts of the constituency where the broadband coverage is wholly inadequate, and I will continue push for all of my constituents to be able to benefit from fast and reliable broadband."