Barnsley residents must fund their own fibre broadband

Tuesday, November 5th 2013
Barnsley residents must find £11,000 if they are to be connected to fibre optic broadband by BT.
Barnsley residents must fund their own fibre broadband
Villagers from an area of Barnsley have discovered they must stump up £11,000 out of their own pockets if they are to gain access to fibre optic broadband.

Two estates in the the village of Dodsworth have been having to cope with a connection of around 1Mbps for the last decade.

They haven't been included in BT's rollout plans, which will bring speeds of up to 80Mbps to the majority of Barnsley. However, homeowners have been told that a total investment of £22,000 would fund the installation, according to a report in the Barnsley Chronicle.

Barnsley Council and BT have promised to raise half of the costs, but the rest must come from the broadband users themselves. The news follows the revelation that BT's excess profits are £5 billion over the recommended maximum specified by Ofcom.

A BT spokesperson said: "The costs to do this work are not commercially viable. However, we have worked with the local community and agreed to cover a substantial amount of the costs but have asked the local community to also contribute."

Residents held a meeting at the weekend to discuss whether they should accept the proposal.

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