Market-town residents share benefits of ultrafast broadband

16 April 2013 - Gigaclear, provider of ultrafast fibre optic broadband to the UK’s rural communities, has completed construction of an all-fibre network in the North East quarter of Uppingham including “the Beeches.” The network enables Rutland Telecom, a subsidiary of Gigaclear, to provide residents with broadband speeds of up to 1,000 Mbps – faster than those available to 99 per cent of the country. The network is expected to bring considerable social and economic benefits to the market town.

Ron Simpson, secretary of the community partnership Uppingham First and coordinator of the town’s Neighbourhood Forum was among the first to be connected. He comments, “Having experienced the colossal speeds available with fibre-to-the-premises (FTTP) I would never go back. Whole families can be online with no degradation in performance. We now use a telephone service from Vonage to make calls from our existing handsets over the broadband network. With Gigaclear the lines are crystal clear. We expect to soon cut out the cost of a landline altogether - and to make further savings through the use of other Internet-based services.”

The launch of the network is being marked by a series of ‘open house events’ at which residents will share ways to make the most of the ultrafast network – from internet telephony, music and video streaming to home working, health and home monitoring.

The Gigaclear network will soon extend to the Uppingham Gate business park enabling existing businesses to take advantage of world class connectivity and acting as a catalyst for others – potentially bringing employment opportunities in its wake. Gigaclear will look to extend the network into other parts of Uppingham and surrounding areas based on demand.

Mark Shaw, chairman of The Beeches Residents’ Association said, “I run a small company which sometimes involves working with colleagues in India. Previously communications could be challenging. The new network has changed that.”

Robert Will, chairman of Uppingham First said, “With ultrafast broadband, Gigaclear and Rutland Telecom have rendered Uppingham fit for the future - increasing the appeal of the town as a place to live or establish and grow a business."

Shane James, Managing Director at Rutland Telecom said, “The network took just over three months to complete. Residents have remarked how smooth the construction and installation process was and reacted very positively to the new service. We are delighted to see them sharing ways to get the most out of it.”