A FURTHER 483,000 homes and businesses in Scotland will have access to faster broadband by the spring of next year, BT announced today.
Another 37 communities are included in the latest roll-out plans for BT’s pioneering 21st Century Network (21CN). Within less than a year lines serving up to 56 per cent of premises in Scotland – more than 1.2 million households and businesses – will have been upgraded.
The BT investment makes broadband speeds of up to 20 megabits per second (Mbps) available – more than double the maximum speeds previously available to the majority of UK homes and businesses. The faster speeds are delivered over copper lines.
Nearly 200 UK exchanges are included in the phase of the programme announced today. By the spring of next year about 18 million UK homes and businesses will have been upgraded. The new services are available on an open, wholesale basis to all companies providing broadband.
BT Scotland director, Brendan Dick, said: “This latest major investment in next generation broadband represents a huge BT vote of confidence in the future of Scotland. It will help ensure that businesses and households are in a strong position to thrive. Faster broadband can help businesses become more competitive and greatly improve the on-line services available to households.”
Additionally, BT is rolling-out super-fast fibre-based broadband in the UK, initially offering download speeds of up to 40 Mbps – with even faster speeds being possible if the fibre goes direct to the home or business.
And today BT called for more partnership-working to deliver fibre-based broadband in locations where it is not economically viable to include them in current roll-out plans.
Brendan Dick said: “We would like to work with partners to find ways of providing fibre-based broadband for those areas where the economics are more challenging.
“There are already a number of examples of this in the UK. Some are major multi-million pound projects, such as the partnership in Northern Ireland where BT has pledged to invest about £30 million, whilst others are much more local, such as the village project in Kent where £13,000 of public sector funding helped unlock BT investment of £62,000.”
Notes to Editors:
The full list of exchanges just announced is – Bellshill, Broxburn, Carluke, Carnoustie, Cockenzie, Dundee Claverhouse, Dunoon, Duntocher, Edinburgh Colinton, Edinburgh Davidson’s Mains, Edinburgh Livingston Bridge, Edinburgh Pentland, Edinburgh Rose St, Glasgow Bell, Glasgow Cranhill, Glasgow Drumchapel, Glasgow Govan, Glasgow Maryhill, Glasgow Provanmill, Glenrothes South, Grangemouth, Helensburgh, Holytown, Inverurie, Irvine, Johnstone, Larbert, Largs, Linlithgow, Prestwick, Renfrew, St Andrews, Stonehaven, Troon and Wishaw. Upgrade work has already been completed at Kirkintilloch and Springburn.
Enquiries about this news release should be made to Mitch Reid at the BT Scotland Press Office on 0800 085 0660. All news releases can be accessed at our web site: http://www.btplc.com/News
About BT
BT is one of the world’s leading providers of communications solutions and services operating in more than 170 countries. Its principal activities include the provision of networked IT services globally; local, national and international telecommunications services to our customers for use at home, at work and on the move; broadband and internet products and services and converged fixed/mobile products and services. BT consists principally of four lines of business: BT Global Services, Openreach, BT Retail and BT Wholesale.
In the year ended March 2010, BT Group’s revenue was £20,911 million.
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.bt.com/aboutbt
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Contact: Mitch Reid
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Email: mitchell.reid@bt.com
Website: http://www.btplc.com/News
