BT adds 7,000 more to its broadband family (From Wiltshire Times)

BT adds 7,000 more to its broadband family

11:18am Monday 30th July 2012 in News

Faster broadband is now available to nearly 7,000 more homes and businesses in Wiltshire, BT announced today.

            Purton, Tisbury and Bradenstoke are the latest communities in the county to benefit from upgrades as part of the roll-out of BT’s next generation broadband service delivered over copper lines.

The BT investment will make available download speeds of up to 20 megabits per second (Mbps) – more than double the fastest speed previously available from BT.
 

The faster broadband is already available in another 25 communities including Chippenham, Melksham, Swindon, Trowbridge and Warminster.

By next Spring around 84 per cent of homes and businesses in the South West will be served by an exchange which has been upgraded to deliver these higher speeds. The new service is available on an open, wholesale basis to all companies providing broadband.

Ian Larrard, director, GWE The Initiative in Swindon and Wiltshire, said: “I welcome this latest development which makes faster broadband available to thousands more businesses and homes across the county. This kind of investment by BT is vital for the continued growth and prosperity of Wiltshire.

“In a fast-changing, increasingly competitive world, faster broadband is tremendously important for local businesses and for individuals wanting to develop their skills and education.”
 

Jon Reynolds, BT’s South West regional director, said: “Faster broadband is touching the Iives of everyone - from small businesses and homeworkers, to internet shoppers, students, families and online gaming enthusiasts – and transforming the way we do things, for the better.

 

"BT is committed to making the technology available to as many homes and businesses as possible, as quickly as possible.

            “More than three quarters of South West homes and businesses now have access to faster broadband and within less than a year we expect this will have increased to about 84 per cent of premises in this region.
 

“But there is still much work to be done and we want to work with local authorities to find ways of getting to even the most challenging locations.”
This investment in the copper network is in addition to BT’s £2.5 billion roll-out of fibre-based broadband, which will bring even faster speeds to around two-thirds of UK premises by the end of 2014.

Fibre-based broadband is already available in Blunsdon, Calne, Chippenham, Devizes, Melksham, Swindon, Toothill, Trowbridge and Westbury with Salisbury and Warminster to follow shortly. Bradford-on-Avon, Corsham, Highworth and Malmesbury will follow later this year.