Member Article

BT announces super-fast connectivity for South West

BT has announced that more than one million South West homes and businesses will have access to super-fast broadband by the end of next year.

18 communities including Cirencester, Dorchester, Gloucester, Newton Abbot, Poole, Tewkewbury, Weston-Super-Mate and Yeovil, have been added to BT’s £2.5 billion roll-out of fibre broadband.

Nearly 250,000 homes and businesses in the region are due to receive the upgrade, with work to be completed during 2012.

BT’s local network business Openreach is driving forward plans to make super-fast fibre broadband available to two-thirds of UK premises by the end of 2014.

A mix of fibre to cabinet (FTTC) and fibre to premises (FTTP) technologies will ensure speeds are superior to those previously available to many UK homes and businesses.

Jon Reynolds, BT’s South West regional director, said: “This latest major investment is a tremendous boost for the South West.

“Super-fast broadband will be welcomed by families throughout the area because it will help improve their quality of life and leisure and open new doors through online learning and fast access to information and services.

“And it’s also going to provide a huge boost for businesses and the region’s economy.

“At a stroke, SMEs will have access to big business speeds at much lower costs, allowing them to find new markets, boost their competitiveness and create new jobs.”

He went on to explain how faster upstream speeds are a boon for flexible and remote working, which in turn slashes office overheads and improves employees’ work-life balance.

Mr Reynolds also suggested that partnership with the public sector was required to provide access to BT technology in rural areas.

Barbara Janke, Bristol City Council leader added: “Bristol is well-known as a digital leader amongst cities.

“It is very welcome news that more communities and companies across Bristol are going to have access to super-fast broadband.

“The investment means faster connections, better access to online services and more incentive for people to get online.

“We are keen to work with partner providers such as BT to make sure the infrastructure is there for our companies to thrive and grow, and all our residents have the opportunities to benefit from using the internet.”

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Tom Keighley .