1,000 East Riding homes and businesses get faster broadband

Watton now benefiting from roll-out programme; 

Business In the Community welcomes new development

BT announced today that faster broadband is now available to more than 1,000 homes and businesses in Watton.

Watton is the latest East Riding community to benefit from upgrades as part of the roll-out of BT’s next generation broadband service delivered over copper lines. A full list can be found at the end of this release.

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 to more than 1.6 million premises across Yorkshire and the Humber and, by next Spring, 90 per cent of homes and businesses in the region 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*.

Liz Needleman, area director for Business in the Community, said: “This announcement from BT is very welcome. Small businesses in particular will benefit from faster speeds of connectivity that will help them compete more effectively with larger organisations. Individuals in the local communities will also benefit, from more efficient job hunting to keeping in contact with friends and loved ones and helping to combat isolation.”

John Anderson, BT’s regional director for Yorkshire and the Humber, said: “Faster broadband will deliver important benefits for people in Watton, whether they are running a business, working or studying from home, doing the weekly shop online, downloading films and TV programmes or keeping in touch with friends and family around the world. It can all be done better using faster broadband.

“That’s why BT is determined to bring faster speeds to as many homes and businesses as possible, and we are keen to work with the public sector to find solutions for 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.

Locations included in today’s announcement. . .
HIGH GREEN
SETTLE
ASKERN
LOFTUS
SILKSTONE
WINTERTON
DUNNINGTON
KNOTTINGLEY
HEALING
THRYBERGH
ARTHINGTON
BURLEY-IN-WHARFDALE
WATTON

Note to Editors
*Once an exchange area has been upgraded for next generation broadband, some service providers automatically upgrade their customers to the enhanced broadband service. People should contact their chosen service provider for more information about the products and services they offer.