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Superfast broadband for 73 UK exchanges: Broadband Rollout Roundup

Welcome to Broadband Rollout Roundup

BT has been busy this week starting superfast broadband services and promising it to 73 exchanges from Aberdeen to Wolverhampton.

The county of Rutland also signed up BT to deliver at least 24Mbps to 90 per cent of premises and BT announced that 80 per cent of UK homes and businesses can now get better than 20Mbps.

73 exchanges announced for fibre-to-the-cabinet upgrade

BT Openreach has alerted broadband providers to prepare for fibre-to-the-cabinet from 73 exchanges around the UK.

It’s the latest phase of BT’s £2.5 billion roll-out of super-fast fibre broadband in the UK, which will cover two-thirds of UK homes and businesses by the end of 2014 using a mix of fibre-to-the-cabinet and fibre-to-the-premises.

More homes and businesses in Llanelli, Swansea, Sheffield, Calderdale, Yorkshire, the Humber, Low Fell, Surrey, Milton Keynes, Bradford, Nottinghamshire, Leicestershire, the Isle of Wight, and large parts of Scotland and south-west England can expect fibre-optic broadband services.

By Spring 2013, super-fast fibre will be in reach of extra homes and businesses:

  • 150,400 in Scotland
  • 10,000 in south-east England
  • 8,000 in north-east England
  • 72,000 in Yorkshire and the Humber
  • 3,600 in Calderdale
  • 40,000 in Sheffield
  • 60,000 in Llanelli and Swansea
  • 113,000 in south-west England
  • 14,600 in Bradford
  • 18,000 in Nottinghamshire
  • 16,500 in Derbyshire
  • 22,500 in Leicestershire
  • 8,500 in Norfolk

Exact schedules and timings for your local exchange can be found at the BT Openreach Superfast Fibre Access microsite

BT exchanges scheduled for fibre

Fibre goes live for 100,000 more homes

The next few weeks will see superfast broadband available to more than 100,000 homes and businesses at the sharp end of BT’s ongoing fibre deployment.

In one of BT’s Race to Infinity winners, Innerleithen & District in the Scottish Borders, 2,000 homes and businesses get fibre broadband after the majority of residents were convinced to sign a petition for the service.

In Llanrumney, more than 15,000 local householders and firms in the towns are poised to join another 64,000 in the city.

Fibre is also poised to go live in Carterton in Oxfordshire (5,000 homes and businesses), Pimlico in London (9,000 get their digital passports), and Nodland in Kent (5,000 get the nod).

Race to disappointment

There was disappointment in Oxfordshire, where not everyone will get superfast broadband despite winning an upgrade for their exchange in the Race to Infinity campaign.

Residents of West Hagbourne took part in the campaign top sign up their local community so the Blewbury exchange would be upgraded for fibre broadband.

Now they’ve learned that although the villages of Blewbury, Upton, Aston Tirrold and Aston Upthorpe are getting 40Mbps or better, they’re too far from the exchange for fibre to reach their cabinets or premises.

Rutland signs BT for ADSL2+

Britain’s smallest county has inked a deal for BT to bring 24Mbps broadband to 90 per cent of its residents and businesses.

Most of the county will get at least 24Mbps, while the rest will get 2-24Mbps, using Rutland’s £710,000 Broadband Delivery UK grant from the government.

The deal will have to pass EU state aid tests before it can go ahead, but if successful BT will start work from October 2012.

Councillor Terry King, deputy leader of Rutland County Council, said: “We know slow download speeds are an issue for many of our local residents and businesses with some not even receiving 0.5Mbps. This project will make a real difference and the council is looking forward to working with BT to significantly improve the broadband network across Rutland”.

ISPs can offer 24Mbps to four out of five UK premises

BT Wholesale has confirmed that its ADSL2+ services now reach 20 million UK homes and businesses.

The Wholesale Broadband Connect service is used by broadband providers to offer up to 24Mbps broadband over copper telephone lines.

BT Wholesale, which sells the service on behalf of BT Openreach, said it expects to have WBC on offer to approximately 90 per cent of UK homes and businesses by Spring 2013. 

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