Thousands more remote Staffordshire homes and businesses to benefit from broadband upgrade

Staffordshire is set for a major digital boost as more than 11,000 homes and businesses gain access to full fibre broadband. 

A new fibre network will be built in the next couple of years thanks to a new phase of the government’s Project Gigabit programme. 

It will see rural parts of Staffordshire being connected to gigabit-capable broadband speeds and will transform how residents live, work, and do things online in places that might not have been connected easily. 

This includes groups of homes and businesses in Pattingham and Acton Trussell in South Staffordshire, Colton and Elford in Lichfield, Swynnerton in Stafford Borough and Baldwins Gate and Whitmore in Newcastle-under-Lyme. 

Staffordshire County Council is supporting the programme through its own Gigafast Staffordshire initiative, which is already helping 82 per cent of county homes and businesses access gigabit speeds. 

Project Gigabit is the government’s rollout of lightning-fast, reliable broadband across the UK. The programme targets homes and businesses that are not included in broadband companies’ commercial plans, reaching parts of the country that would otherwise miss out. 

Openreach, which has more than 3,000 engineers working in the region, has been chosen to build the new network. 

Staffordshire County Council’s cabinet member for environment, infrastructure and climate change Simon Tagg, pictured above, said: “Access to gigabit capable broadband speeds is essential to our communities and businesses and so it’s excellent to see this reach extended by Openreach through Project Gigabit. 

“Faster broadband improves everyone’s day-to-day living, enabling people to access health, education, banking and leisure services and more. It is also critical for business operations, growth and increased productivity.  

“Our Superfast Staffordshire programme was a huge success and made a real difference over the last decade – now gigabit capable connection is the next step.” 

Kasam Hussain, Openreach’s regional partnership director, added: “We’re pleased to be bringing this important connectivity in Staffordshire, not only delivering faster speeds but also ensuring that homes and businesses across the region can enjoy seamless, reliable and uninterrupted connectivity, even during peak times. 

“This infrastructure will play a crucial role in supporting future growth, innovation, and improving the quality of life for everyone for generations to come.” 

The new network complements a £16.5 million Project Gigabit contract awarded to Connect Fibre last year, which is providing services in northeast Staffordshire and is set to benefit up to 5,900 hard-to-reach premises. 

First customer connections on the northeast Staffordshire project should be deployed by the end of this year.