Mar 12, 2018
Virgin Media expands fibre network to rural areas
A local campaign, in conjunction with Virgin Media, has brought fibre broadband to rural communities in Hampshire. Virgin Media said a broadband advocate community group representing the 12 villages contacted it in 2016, asking that the company bring its fibre network to their area. Disappointed by BT. Independent telecoms analyst Ian Grant said that residents in rural areas are increasingly turning to rural initiatives because they have been "Disappointed" by BT. BT owns the infrastructure provider Openreach, which owns almost all telephone wires, exchanges, cabinets and ducts in the UK. "Every single county council in the country gave their fibre contracts to BT, and BT has not rolled out fibre to the rural communities - hardly at all," he told the BBC. "They've put fibre to the street cabinets, but many people in rural communities live too far away from the cabinets to be able to access high speed broadband." He does not think that Virgin Media will start providing a fibre network in all rural areas. "In order to build a network, you want to build to adjacent areas. Virgin would rather stay close to the cities in the south, so adding a link to a nearby area is affordable, but if you have to go to a far-off area, it's very expensive."
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