16,000 more Essex homes and businesses get faster broadband

Seven more communities now benefiting from roll-out programme;

BT announced today that faster broadband is now available to a further 16,000 homes and businesses in Essex.
Great Bentley and Ramsey are among the latest seven communities in Essex 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 83 per cent of East of England premises and, by next Spring this figure will have reached more than 85 per cent. The new service is available on an open, wholesale basis to all companies providing broadband*.
Nicola Currie, director of the Country Land & Business Association (CLA) in the East , said: “This will be really good news for rural businesses in Essex where you need faster uploads or downloads. A typical rural business needs to be able to complete more than a dozen different types of government forms online these days. It will also be a boost for homes where you will be able to access so much more information and download films or music.
“The speeds some people get at the moment can be cripplingly slow. Research shows that a pupil without broadband is likely to achieve ten points less in their GCSE's than those who have easy access. It is also the future in assisting with some of our medical care, in particular for the elderly.”
Dave Hughes, BT’s Regional director for the East of England said: “Faster broadband will deliver important benefits for people across Suffolk, 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.
GREAT BENTLEY
RAMSEY
EARLS COLNE
SOUTHMINSTER
WRITTLE
GREAT HORKESLEY
TOLLESBURY


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.