Fast internet is heading for the hills

SADDLEWORTH is among the homes and businesses benefiting from BT’s latest roll-out of faster broadband.

The villages are included in more than 8,600 more properties in Greater Manchester homes that will have access to the next generation copper broadband service by spring next year, the telecommunications giant has announced.

The BT investment makes available broadband speeds of up to 20 megabits per second (Mbps) — more than double the maximum speeds previously available to most UK homes and businesses.

Saddleworth is among more than 300 UK exchanges included in the latest phase of the programme. Communities in Oldham have already benefited.

By spring next year, about 84 per cent of North-West premises are expected to have been upgraded.

The new next generation broadband network is available on an open, wholesale basis to all internet services providers.

The investment is in addition to the £2.5 billion BT roll-out of super-fast fibre-based broadband, which is expected to bring even faster speeds to two-thirds of UK premises by the end of 2015.

Mike Blackburn, BT’s North-West regional director, said: “This is another important step forward for Greater Manchester.

“Faster broadband can help businesses become more competitive and greatly improve the online services available to families and homeworkers.

“As the roll-out of faster broadband gathers pace, internet users will increasingly be able to choose the service that suits their needs best.”