BT rolling out fast copper broadband to 130,000 Welsh properties

Friday, December 23rd 2011

Residents in 33 Welsh communities are set to benefit from BT's latest round of copper broadband upgrades.

BT rolling out fast copper broadband to 130,000 Welsh properties

Fast copper broadband will be rolled out to tens of thousands more properties in Wales by next summer, BT has announced.

The telecoms giant has unveiled plans for a new investment in its next-generation copper broadband service, which offers speeds of up to 20Mbps - almost three times the UK's average download rate.

A total of 33 Welsh communities are set to benefit from the high-speed broadband deployment, including Aberystwyth, Denbigh, Llanidloes, Milford Haven, Monmouth and Treorchy, reports the Western Mail.

More than half of homes in Wales are already covered by BT's next-generation network and availability will be increased to just under three-quarters of households by the time this latest rollout is completed.

In total, 130,000 additional commercial and residential properties across the country will gain access to faster copper broadband as a result of the upgrade work.

Ann Beynon, BT's director for Wales, declared the company's project to give Welsh broadband customers improved internet services is proceeding "at a very rapid pace".

News of the company's plans has been welcomed by Consumer Focus Wales, which declared faster broadband is "vitally important" given the growing number of essential services that are moving online.

Senior director of the organisation Maria Battle said: "No one should be unable to access services many people already take for granted just because of where they live.

"It is also pleasing to see the list of areas includes so many rural and valleys communities where consumers have often been unable to access the best deals and online services."

Earlier this year, the UK government allocated £56.9 million to extend broadband access to everyone in Wales, including super-fast services for 90 per cent of properties.

The remaining ten per cent, which will primarily be in rural and isolated parts of the country, will be upgraded to receive minimum speeds of 2Mbps.

BT rolling out fast copper broadband to 130,000 Welsh properties

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