BT's fibre optic broadband service is now available to thousands more homes and businesses in Cheshire, the telecoms giant has announced.

Over the coming weeks, more than 16,000 properties in the centre of Chester will be connected to the company's super-fast broadband network, making them some of the first in the UK to gain access to the technology.

The south Chester exchange was upgraded earlier this year and plans are afoot to roll out the service to residents and employers in the north of the city later in 2011.

Up to £2.5 billion is being spent on fibre-based broadband by BT in a bid to deliver the technology to two-thirds of premises across the UK by the end of 2014, a year earlier than the company had originally planned.

The company claims its investment in an open-access network is one of the largest in the world that does not rely on public money.

City of Chester MP Stephen Mosley described BT's plan to deploy super-fast broadband in the area as a "major investment" and a "very important development for our communities".

"I welcome the opportunity for local householders and businesses to be at the forefront of benefiting from this exciting technology," he added.

Mike Blackburn, regional director for the north-west at BT, added: "As our rollout of super-fast, fibre-based broadband gathers pace, many more customers in other parts of the country can look forward to faster speeds in the pipeline."

Elsewhere in the region, more than 41,000 homes and businesses across Greater Manchester are set to gain access to the service in the next few weeks.

Some 20,600 properties in Middleton, as well as 11,400 in Irlam and 8,900 in Marple, will be hooked up to the technology once the programme of infrastructure upgrades is finished.

BT's fibre-to-the-cabinet service currently offers download speeds of up to 40Mbps, plus maximum upload capabilities of 10Mbps.

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