22,000 more Norfolk homes and businesses get faster broadband

Eight more communities now benefiting from roll-out programme;

Norfolk County Council welcomes new development

BT announced today that faster broadband is now available to a further 22,000 homes and businesses in Norfolk.
Wroxham and Hunstanton are among the latest eight communities in Norfolk 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*.
Ann Steward Cabinet Member for Economic Development, Norfolk County Council, said: ‘This is great news from BT. I really welcome the news that another 22,000 homes and businesses in Norfolk are now able to take advantage of a technology, which will play a key role in our economic growth and future development.
“More than ever, high speed communications are crucial in the fast-moving and changing world that we work and live in and I’m looking forward to the benefits this faster broadband will bring to our region.”
Dave Hughes, BT’s Regional director for the East of England said: “Faster broadband will deliver important benefits for people across Norfolk, 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.
TERRINGTON ST CLEMENTS
WROXHAM
HOLT
MELTON CONSTABLE
NARBOROUGH
WATTON
HINGHAM
HUNSTANTON

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.