It is said to deliver broadband speeds of up to 80Mbps, ten times faster than previous service speeds.
A 939km cable between Porthcurno, Cornwall, and Santander, Spain – which had remained unused on the seabed of the Atlantic Ocean since 2006 – was diverted to the Isles of Scilly during a six-month operation.
The project forms part of the £132 million Superfast Cornwall initiative between the European Regional Development Fund, BT and Cornwall Council, which plans to make fibre broadband available to 95% of homes and businesses in Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly by the end of 2014.
“The arrival of fibre broadband on the Isles of Scilly, England’s most remote community, is a landmark event. It is a wonderful example of what is being achieved by BT in partnership with the public sector to bring this exciting technology to locations across the UK, which would have been considered beyond reach just a few years ago,” said Gavin Patterson, chief executive of BT.
“Already, more than 21 million UK homes and businesses have access to fibre broadband – which puts the UK ahead of any other major European economy – and now we are pushing the boundaries to go even further.”
