BT Wins BDUK Leicestershire Cash

Leicestershire is the latest English county to dish out government funding from the Broadband Delivery UK (BDUK) programme as it agreed a £16.9 million deal with BT to deliver fibre to 95 percent of homes and businesses in the area by the end of March 2016.

All premises will receive speeds of at least 2Mbps by the end of the rollout, which the Leicestershire County Council says will help the local economy and improve the lives of residents.

“We predict that faster broadband will create a £92 million boost to Leicestershire’s economy over the next seven years, by making firms more competitive and attracting inward investment and jobs,” says Blake Pain, the county council’s cabinet member for economic development. “Rural communities and businesses can play a major role in the county’s future, once they have the high speed connections they need to compete nationally and internationally.”

BDUK Leicestershire

BT is contributing £8.3 million to the project, while the council will provide £4.1 million. Another £3.3million will come from BDUK and an additional £1.23 million has been pledged by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF).

“Faster broadband will help to unlock rural Leicestershire’s economic potential. The Leicestershire economy, especially in rural areas predominantly consists of small and micro businesses,” adds Bill Murphy, BT’s managing director of next generation access. “A large number of people are self-employed, work from home and are in the creative, knowledge based sectors which need high speed broadband and will provide the driving force for the county’s digital economy.”

BT has received all of the funding available from BDUK to date, most recently agreeing a deal to improve fibre coverage in Essex. It is likely to win all the remaining cash as it is the only company participating in the procurement process after its only rival, Fujitsu, withdrew.

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