Grafham was one of the first villages in Cambridgeshire to be given superfast internet access as part of the county council’s fibre broadband roll-out.

The Hunts Post: New fibre broadband cabinets, unveiled at Grafham, (l-r) MP Jonathan Djanogly, Bill Murphy from BT, Councillor Ian Bates, and Leader of CCC Martin CurtisNew fibre broadband cabinets, unveiled at Grafham, (l-r) MP Jonathan Djanogly, Bill Murphy from BT, Councillor Ian Bates, and Leader of CCC Martin Curtis (Image: Archant)

The technology – housed in green cabinets – went live today in a number of areas of the county, including parts of Buckden, Offord D’Arcy, St Ives and Somersham.

Cambridgeshire County Council said more than 1,500 homes and businesses would be linked to these cabinets, allowing them to receive broadband speeds of 24Mbps and higher before Christmas.

Anyone wishing to get access to the network will need to upgrade with their service provider.

The council signed a £45million with BT earlier this year last – with the communications giants contributing £16m – to provide urban and rural areas with faster online connections. Monday’s roll-out was the first to be delivered through a partnership. Other towns and villages will be connected over the next two years.

CCC leader Councillor Martin Curtis said: “We know many people have been eagerly anticipating the first phase of the roll-out since the signing of the contract with BT in March. I am delighted that we have achieved our promise to see our investment start delivering fibre broadband for homes and businesses before the end of this year.”