Thousands of Brent homes, schools and businesses will have access to ultra-fast broadband as The West London Alliance (WLA) strikes multi-million-pound deal with BT.

This new partnership between five London boroughs and BT will see the creation of a new ‘full fibre’ broadband network which will pave the way for up to 1GB internet speeds across Brent and neighbouring Barnet, Ealing, Harrow, and Hillingdon.

Public facilities will also benefit from this change with slow internet connections being replaced by speedy broadband in libraries, social care, community, and youth centres. This will provide better services to residents and help the facilities to become more innovative in the services they provide.

Councillor Muhammed Butt, Leader of Brent Council, said:  “Over the past five years we have worked hard to increase fibre coverage by 57% in Brent. We are excited to see this partnership give even more Brent residents access to faster broadband. This will help to bridge the digital divide by providing better internet connection in our well-used public spaces from libraries to community centres, ensuring that as the world becomes more digital, no one gets left behind.”

“West London is a hub for fibre broadband and 5G investment that is rapidly becoming an economic powerhouse for Digital Innovation and Investment.”

Ed Maughan, BT Enterprise unit director for London Private and Public Sector said: “This deal with WLA will enable us to bring full fibre connections to these West London boroughs that will not just boost internet speeds, but also ensure businesses and residents benefit from future-proofed infrastructure.

“This agreement will help tackle digital inequality and bring access to state-of-the-art technology to key community hubs which can often find it difficult to access funding.

“We are also proud to be supporting residents and businesses across the area with the creation of new jobs and a package of skills training and support.”

Work to install the full fibre connections is expected to be completed by June 2023.