Superfast Broadband put back again

A couple of weeks ago, it was reported on AudlemOnline that Connecting Cheshire expected the long-awaited Superfast Broadband to arrive in Audlem in late September, somewhat later than the expected 'late summer'.

It now appears that late-September was somewhat optimistic. Audlem Parish Council was told on Monday evening by Cllr Geoff Seddon that it was likely to be the end of the year before our broadband got up to speed.

The reason, he had been told by Connecting Cheshire, was that some areas were proving more difficult than expected. One of those areas, unfortunately, was Audlem.

The map to the right shows the latest expectations. It is best clicked on to expand because of the amount of detail and then again using the magnifying glass symbol. To revert back afterwards, simply click on your escape key.

The map shows those areas already or about to be connected in light green and those due to be upgraded by September in olive green.

Most parts of Audlem and Hankelow, however, are coloured in pink, which indicates: "Upgrade to fibre from October onwards by Connecting Cheshire."

For Burleydam and parts of Buerton, coloured blue on the map, they are simply indicated as: "Under evaluation for fibre upgrade."

Connecting Cheshire's website says: "The most common challenge faced by BT's engineers is getting the fibre-optic cables through the underground ducting. Blocked ducts are a common problem in rural areas and often require a lot of work either by forcing machinery through the ducts or in some cases require roadworks to remove the blockage from above.

"This has slowed down progress in some areas, and in some instances forced us to amend our fibre delivery dates to later in the programme. Although we have many areas that have gone live already or are due soon, we have also been able to connect other areas quicker than we anticipated. To reflect these changes, we have updated our maps.

"For those few areas where work is taking a little longer, please accept our apologies. We are working as hard as we can to get the county connected and are still on track to complete our current phase of work by the end of March 2015.

"We know this is disappointing and would like to thank you for your continued patience."

More when we have further news.

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