16,000 more Hampshire homes and businesses get faster broadband

five more communities now benefiting from roll-out programme; 

Hampshire County Council welcomes new development

BT announced today that faster broadband is now available to a further 16,000 homes and businesses in Hampshire.

Sway, Cadman New, Bassett and Alton Bentley are among 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. 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 around 650,000 Hampshire premises and, by next Spring, 90 per cent of homes and businesses in the South East 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*.

Cllr Ken Thornber, leader of Hampshire County Council, said: "Hampshire County Council welcomes this latest announcement from BT, and is particularly pleased to see the investment in some of the more rural exchanges. Faster broadband speeds are vital - not just for their contribution to the local rural economy and potential to create new businesses and jobs, but for every aspect of modern life. Today, modern public services are increasingly available online. Longer-term it's vital that people and organisations take up these faster broadband services so they can make the most of the benefits that the new technology and network can bring."

John Weaver, BT’s South East regional director, said: “Faster broadband will deliver important benefits for people across Hampshire, 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. BT has already announced that fibre broadband will come to Bassett and it is already available at Fair Oak.

Locations included in today’s announcement. . .
Sway Alton Bentley
Cadnam New
Fair Oak
Bassett

For further information about this news release please contact the BT regional press office on 0800 085 0660. All our news releases can be read at www.bt.com/news

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.