Wrexham was today announced as one of 114 new locations where BT is set to introduce fibre based broadband services.
The laying of the infrastructure will begin on Tuesday and will cover Wrexham North and Gresford.
It means that approximately 15,000 homes will benefit from internet speeds of up to 40Mbps.
BT said that the move is part of it’s long-term programme to make super-fast broadband available to two-thirds of UK homes and businesses by the end of 2015.
The company has pledged to spend £2.5 billion on this programme, subject to there being an acceptable environment for investment.
The majority of the roll-out will be based on Fibre to the Cabinet technology (FTTC) which currently offers download speeds of up to 40Mbps and upstream speeds of 10Mbps but Openreach is planning to roughly double these speeds during 2012.
Wrexham AM, Lesley Griffiths said: “This represents a significant investment in the communications infrastructure of Wrexham north and Gresford, and is welcome news for residents and businesses there.”
Mike Galvin, BT Openreach’s managing director for Next Generation Access, said: “I am pleased to be able to reveal the latest locations where we will make fibre broadband available. Our roll out is one of the fastest in the world and we are on track to pass ten million homes and businesses next year before pushing on further.
“Fibre broadband will transform peoples’ experience of the internet and so I am sure the residents and businesses in these areas will welcome the news. No other company is doing as much as Openreach to bring super-fast broadband to the UK.”
Chris
September 22, 2011 at 10:24pmAs far as I can tell, they just randomly pick exchanges that have a base level of subscribers.
Also, Bill: Many existing FTTC Exchange users have been left out.
Bizarrely, it appears from the documentation, that Cabinets currently served through copper by Wrexham North Exchange will be served through fibre from the main Wrexham Exchange; perhaps long long long term closure plans for smaller exchanges?
Stephen
September 20, 2011 at 3:04pmWhy on earth is this only being rolled out to part of Wrexham???
Once again this shows how rediculous we have it in the UK, we are behind most of europe as it is for infrustructure and speeds vary so widely even in a small area.
I would feel slightly better if there were near future plans to cover the rest of wrexham.
Not impressed – A disgruntled Wrexham resident in the Acton area.
Bill Jones
September 15, 2011 at 11:44amdoes anybody know if this new service is for all lines connected to the Wrexham north exchange
peter
September 14, 2011 at 7:39pmWhat does this work mean for speeds and when will we see a difference ?
MJ
September 14, 2011 at 11:28amWrexham North doesn’t cover Borras or Acton.
Suprisingly, its more towards Summerhill, Pentre Broughton, Bradley etc.
You can see the Wrexham North coverage map here:
http://www.samknows.com/broadband/exchange/WNWXN
and for Gresford here:
http://www.samknows.com/broadband/exchange/WNGRE
Andrew Wynne
September 14, 2011 at 11:09amDepends on the Wrexham Exchange I guess, but I suppose you’re looking at Acton/Borras those sort of phone numbers.
As someone pointed out on twitter last night, the cost wont actually be more per month (as I originally said).
richardwilliams
September 14, 2011 at 10:23amWhat areas come under the ‘Wrexham North’ banner for this superfast broadband.
Andrew Wynne
September 13, 2011 at 5:30pmWhilst this is a good thing. BT Infinity is quite expensive, so most wont get it over their normal service. However, normal broadband speeds should be increased.