A major boost to the UK’s broadband infrastructure has just been announced that will boost speeds for millions of BT and Sky users.
If your broadband speeds are still sluggish then good news could be on its way. A major boost has just been confirmed that will bring vastly improved downloads to millions of homes across the UK. The upgrade is all thanks to BT’s Openreach switching more locations over to Fibre to the Premises (FTTP) technology.
These latest fibre cables can offer speeds in excess of 1Gbps – that’s compared to just 70Mbps when using ageing copper wires that dangle above Britain’s streets. With an FTTP connection installed, you can download a full HD movie in under 40 seconds – that same film would take almost 10 minutes via copper wires.
It’s really easy to see if your home is currently connected to FTTP speeds or is about to get the boost. Openreach has an easy-to-use postcode checker which shows exactly what speeds are available in your street.
There’s also a new map which gives a better picture of how many homes are now connected to faster full fibre.
CHECK YOUR POSTCODE HERE
Some of the added locations for the FTTP boost include Tobermory in Scotland; Haworth in West Yorkshire; Saundersfoot in South Wales; Pinxton in Derbyshire, Harlow in Essex; Southampton in Hampshire; and Roborough in Devon.
It’s worth remembering that although BT owns Openreach, they are not the only firm that uses this network. Other suppliers including Sky, TalkTalk, Plusnet, NOW Broadband, Vodafone and EE also beam the web into homes via Openreach’s hardware.
It’s hoped that by the end of 2026, 25 million homes and businesses will have access to gigabit-capable technology.
Speaking about the latest boost, Clive Selley, CEO, Openreach, said: “This is a UK infrastructure success story. We’re on track and on-budget to make this life-changing broadband technology available to 25 million homes and businesses, and no company is building faster or further in Europe, that we’re aware of.
“We won’t be stopping there either. We plan to build right across the UK, from cities and towns to far-flung farms and island communities. Ultimately, we’ll reach as many as 30 million premises by the end of the decade if there’s a supportive political and regulatory environment.”
