Peterlee broadband: Rollout continues amid anger over poles

The broadband company said overhead cables are the "only current option"

Fibre broadband will still be installed in parts of a town after residents complained about poles which were erected to carry cables.

As one of the "modern" post-war New Towns, Peterlee has been free from overhead cables for 75 years.

Some called the poles an "eyesore", but others said reliable internet was more important than "aesthetics".

Netomnia paused the rollout, but did not remove disputed poles, and said those now connected would stay.

"In the short to medium term, where there are poles, we will use poles, where there are ducts, we will use ducts," a spokesperson said.

"This will leave some residents without fibre, potentially, for some time."

Netomnia said Peterlee's "direct buried" infrastructure meant it could not lay it cable alongside

Resident David Brewster said Peterlee was "proud" to have been a wire-free zone for the past 75 years.

However, other people living in the town said they could not understand why people opposed the new scheme.

Amy Robinson said the council had replaced street lighting on poles "but no one complains about that work".

Netomnia said "direct buried" infrastructure in Peterlee meant it could not run fibre-optic cables alongside the existing underground network and overhead cables were the only solution in some parts of the town.

The company said poles that now carried broadband to residents needed to remain in place, but it was considering removing those that had been objected to but were not yet in use.

"We will continue to work with residents and their representatives towards a resolution," the spokesperson added.