Battling the elements to build ultrafast broadband

Wessex Internet has confirmed where its services have gone live in the first quarter of the calendar year, with more than 20 villages and other rural areas in Dorset, Somerset, Hampshire and Wiltshire connected to ultrafast broadband between January and March 2024.

Despite the wettest winter on record for 130 years, network delivery teams battled the elements to bring services to some incredibly challenging locations. They found mole plough routes across flooded plains, spliced cables al fresco under storm umbrellas, and were especially careful to keep up their standards of tidiness and courtesy when making final installations through village streets and muddy gardens.

The hard work was worth it, with ultrafast broadband now reaching homes and businesses in these rural communities:

In Dorset

o Bishops Caundle

o Chaldon Herring

o Hilton

o Milton Abbas

o Pimperne

o Shillingstone

o Sixpenny Handley

o Witchampton

o Wool

In Somerset

o Chilthorne Domer

o Hornblotton

o Limington

o Marston Magna

o Yenston & Whitechurch

o West Camel

o Yeovil Marsh

In Wiltshire

o Donhead St Andrew

o East Knoyle

o Sedgehill & Semley

In Hampshire

o Martin

o Rockbourne

o Whitsbury

New customers have taken the time to contact the Blandford-based company to offer thanks, not just for bringing ultrafast broadband to their homes for the first time, but also for the consideration and professionalism shown by staff involved.

A customer in Milton Abbas said: “A very amenable workforce at every stage who could be flexible about routing the cable. Overall, I wouldn't hesitate to recommend Wessex Internet, and they're doing a great service installing this excellent infrastructure into our small village.”

Another new customer commented: “I am so grateful to your garden team and engineers, as well as your telephone support team. They stayed with me until 8:45pm to make sure my connection was all working, as my old provider had been cut-off and I live in the middle of nowhere.”

Hector Gibson Fleming, CEO of Wessex Internet, said:

“I would like to give credit to all of our teams who’ve been working hard on the ground during these challenging recent months, to ensure we keep on track with our plans to bring ultrafast broadband to rural and other hard-to-reach communities that are often overlooked by other suppliers.

“It is heartening to hear from customers that they don’t just appreciate having access to a service that they never thought would be possible, but also that they recognise and appreciate the considerate way that our teams approach their work. That thanks goes from our civils operatives, splicers, garden teams and home installers building the network, to our customer service and sales teams involved in setting customers up and helping them out if they have problems.

“It has been exciting to welcome many new colleagues to Wessex Internet over the past few months as the company meets our ambitious plans to bring exceptional internet to even more people. We will continue to grow our workforce to fulfil the recently awarded government contracts, so I encourage applications from anyone who wants to work for a company that values a customer-focused approach and where hard work and problem-solving is appreciated.”