High Barnet needs High Speed Broadband now
Please register support for the Barnet Society petition to demand that British Telecom honours undertakings dating back to 2011 to complete the roll-out of a fast broadband service to High Barnet.
We the undersigned renew our appeal to the Chipping Barnet MP Mrs Theresa Villiers and Councillor David Longstaff to redouble their efforts to ensure that additional kerbside cabinets are installed to serve the 3,000 High Barnet households and premises that are currently without a high-speed internet connection.
British Telecom admit that there will be delays in providing a fast broadband service to up to 3,000 High Barnet households.
BT has still made virtually no progress in agreeing suitable sites for the installation of the necessary additional kerbside telephone cabinets and that a further three potential cabinets are “not commercially viable”.
Mrs Theresa Villiers MP and a delegation from the Barnet Society, BT has conceded that its previous target of being able to offer additional high-speed connections in High Barnet has now slipped from the spring to the end of September at the earliest.
So far a site has been agreed for only one additional cabinet – at Hadley Highstone – which BT say is “planned to go live by the end of the year”.
But no agreement has been reached on sites for the additional cabinets that are required if fast broadband is to reach homes in side streets in and around the centre of High Barnet.
BT is still blaming Barnet Council for the failure to find suitable locations for additional cabinet at six sites:
Wood Street, opposite the Black Horse public house
Wood Street, outside the entrance to Old Court House
High Street, near Hadley Parade
Salisbury Road, near the junction with Stapylton Road
Manor Road, near the junction with Cedar Lawn Avenue
Bells Hill, near the junction with Wood Street
BT’s latest statement has ominous news for some homes off the High Street and St Albans Road. It says upgrades are no longer considered viable for two locations:
Bruce Road
Salisbury Road
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