BT's announcement that its fibre optic broadband rollout programme will be accelerated has been praised by Penrith and the Border MP Rory Stewart.

The telecoms giant had originally planned to deploy super-fast connectivity to two-thirds of UK homes and businesses by the end of 2015, but announced last week that it has moved this deadline forward by 12 months.

In order to achieve this goal, the company is planning to recruit an additional 520 engineers, many of whom will be former members of the armed forces.

BT is also bringing forward £300 million of its £2.5 billion fibre optic broadband investment to ensure the new deadline is hit.

Welcoming the news, Mr Stewart - a vocal campaigner for faster broadband in rural areas - said the decision means people across the country should finally begin to enjoy some "tangible benefits" from the deployment.

"At a time of great economic fragility, fibre in the ground represents the potential for significant boosting of Britain's economy and indeed to regional growth, bringing with it the enormous benefits of technology," he remarked.

Next-generation broadband access means customers will be able to access online information faster, rural businesses will benefit from more opportunities and the jobs sector will be given a much-needed boost, the politician added.

Culture Secretary Jeremy Hunt also hailed BT's plans, stating super-fast broadband is "essential" to achieving sustainable growth in the national economy and that it is "vital" homes and businesses are able to utilise the technology as soon as possible.

"The government is committed to ensuring the UK is leading the way in broadband provision and BT's accelerated rollout will help make that a reality," he declared.

Ian Livingston, chief executive of BT, said the fibre broadband deployment was already one of the fastest in the world, adding it is a "great" achievement to be ahead of this "challenging" schedule.

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Comments (2)

14th November 2011

Even with the continuous cold calling to existing customers by marketing companies employed on behalf of BT, will the take up of these services meet the predicted expectations? How many potential customers have switched over to date ? Should consumers wait for the price to come down or for the services to be available via alternative suppliers?

04th November 2011

There was every sign of slack in the BT Fibre Optic roll-out plan, which has now been removed. Ian Livingston may be pleased about all this. But for the areas waiting just to see if they are lucky enough to be in the 66 percent of BT's UK roll-out, it is beyond frustration. Ian please take note.