Credit to Andy for broadband success

Marton village is just one village on the Marton Exchange, along with Hunningham, Birdingbury, Princethorpe and Weston Under Wetherley, to name but a few. It was the Marton Exchange that won the BT Race to Infinity in January 2011, not Marton village.

Your report quotes from Michael Koch, who was ‘one of the people leading Marton’s bid’. He was until January 1 2011, after which he, and some others in the team, stood back.

Marton Exchange came seventh and BT had only ever promised the top five would be enabled early. However, if it had not been for Weston Under Wetherley resident, Andy Coles, linking up with the organisers from the villages who came eighth, ninth and tenth, and challenging BT to enable the top ten, Marton Exchange would never have been in the position it is now.

In fact Marton village is getting fibre to the premis, whereas the other villages are getting fibre to the cabinet (which is what the Race was all about).

Andy Coles has spent the past year talking, cajoling and arguing with the top executives in BT Retail, BT Openreach and BT plc to ensure that all the villages on the exchange got high speed broadband. Without his hard work 50 per cent only of residents in Weston Under Wetherley would have had high speed broadband. After talking with BT executives that all changed and the whole of Weston village will now be fully enabled.

So, please, give credit where credit is due when reporting such a story as this. - Name and address supplied.