24
November
2016
|
08:53
Europe/London

Bolton and Rusholme lead the way as Openreach announces more Ultrafast broadband pilot areas

People living in Bolton and Rusholme will be amongst the first in the UK to benefit from the new Ultrafast broadband technology being developed by Openreach, BT’s local network business.

The company recently announced Bolton and Rusholme as two pilot location for its new Ultrafast technology, known as G.fast, which provides download speeds of up to 330Mbps – more than 10 times the UK national average.

Openreach plans to make G.fast available to more than 10 million UK homes by the end of 2020.

Thousands of premises in the two locations will be given access to the technology during 2017.

Clive Selley, Openreach’s CEO, said: “The UK already leads the way when it comes to superfast broadband. More than nine out of ten homes and businesses already have access to superfast speeds with another 20,000 more premises being enabled each week, and we’re working hard to reach the rest, as well as starting to roll out ultrafast speeds.

“I’m pleased that Bolton and Rusholme will be two of the first locations to get Ultrafast speeds using G.fast technology, it’s a technology we’ve chosen because it enables us to get an affordable Ultrafast service to as many people as possible in the fastest possible time.”

Early trials of G.fast have been taking place in Cambridgeshire, Newcastle and South Wales, and Openreach has just announced the 17 pilot areas – including Bolton and Rusholme – to reach around 140,000 homes and businesses in 2017.

Openreach has already made fibre broadband available to more than 1.1 million homes and businesses in Greater Manchester, through a combination of the company’s investment and a partnership with the county council.

Across the UK, more homes and businesses are now using superfast broadband than in Germany, France, Italy or Spain, and the UK outperforms the EU’s five largest economies on measures such as availability, speeds and take-up according to Ofcom[1].

You can find out more about G. Fast at openreach.co.uk/ultrafast.

ENDS

For further information

Enquiries about this news release should be made to Janet Hare in the BT regional press office on 0800 085 0660 or janet.hare@bt.com. All news releases can be accessed at our web site: http://www.btplc.com/News

Notes to Editors

About BT

BT’s purpose is to use the power of communications to make a better world. It is one of the world’s leading providers of communications services and solutions, serving customers in 180 countries. Its principal activities include the provision of networked IT services globally; local, national and international telecommunications services to its customers for use at home, at work and on the move; broadband, TV and internet products and services; and converged fixed-mobile products and services.BT consists of six customer-facing lines of business: Consumer, EE, Business and Public Sector, Global Services, Wholesale and Ventures, and Openreach.

For the year ended 31 March 2016, BT Group’s reported revenue was £19,042m with reported profit before taxation of £3,029m.

British Telecommunications plc (BT) is a wholly-owned subsidiary of BT Group plc and encompasses virtually all businesses and assets of the BT Group. BT Group plc is listed on stock exchanges in London and New York.

For more information, visit www.btplc.com

About Openreach

Openreach is responsible for the last mile of the UK access network – the copper wires and fibre connecting homes and businesses to their local telephone exchanges. Openreach provides communications providers with services and products associated with that network.

[1]**Ofcom’s European Broadband Scorecard shows the UK is ranked as leader of the five major EU economies - France, Germany, Italy, Spain - on a range of independent broadband measures