Oldham will be one of the first cities to get super-fast broadband

BT’s local network business Openreach has today announced the first 29 locations where, from early 2010, substantial numbers of customers will have access to fibre-based super-fast broadband via BT’s network, bringing high speeds within reach of 500,000 homes and businesses. The announcement is the next stage in the UK's biggest ever investment programme, some £1.5 billion, in super-fast broadband. This super-fast broadband is to be piloted this summer in Muswell Hill, north London, and Whitchurch, South Wales, prior to the wider roll-out in 2010. Amongst the locations announced today, areas of Belfast, Cardiff, Edinburgh, Glasgow, London and Greater Manchester have all been chosen as the first set of customers. Most of these areas are urban, but two of them (Calder Valley, near Halifax, West Yorkshire, and Taffs Well, near Cardiff) are smaller so BT intend to learn lessons from deploying fibre technology in such environments.

6 out of the 29 locations are in Greater Manchester: Bury, Didsbury, Failsworth, Heaton Moor, Oldham, and Rusholme. This means that initial broadband speeds of up to 40Mbps will become available to more than 41,000 homes and businesses in Oldham, and more than 23,000 in Failsworth. Mike Blackburn, BT’s regional director for the North-West, said: “Super-fast broadband is essential to this region’s future, so it is great to announce this initial set of locations”. A full list of the 29 locations can be viewed by clicking here.

A further announcement regarding the next set of locations, which will serve a further million homes and businesses, will be announced in the autumn.

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