42,000 more homes and businesses in Yorkshire and the Humber get faster broadband

Thirteen more communities now benefiting from roll-out programme; 

Chamber of Commerce welcomes new development

BT announced today that faster broadband is now available to a further 42,000 homes and businesses in Yorkshire and the Humber.

Winterton, Arthington, Watton, Silkstone and Settle are among the latest 13 communities in the region 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 in the region and, by next Spring, 90 per cent of homes and businesses in Yorkshire and the Humber 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*.

Len Cruddas, chief executive at Leeds, York and North Yorkshire Chamber of Commerce, said: “This further announcement by BT is great news for both small businesses and customers in our region. To ensure that our businesses remain truly competitive, and able to operate on a level playing field on a regional and national basis, they must have the best possible connection speeds available to them.

“In an increasingly competitive world this is a necessity and BT’s continued investment will bring great benefits to the region.”

John Anderson, BT’s regional director for Yorkshire and the Humber, said: “Faster broadband will deliver important benefits for people across the region, 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