16,000 Shropshire homes to get superfast broadband

More than 16,000 further homes and businesses in Shropshire will have access to faster broadband by next summer, BT said this afternoon.

Bayston Hill in Shrewsbury, Hollinswood in Telford, Baschurch, and Market Drayton are to be included in the latest roll-out plans for the next generation broadband service delivered over copper lines by the telecommunications giant.

It will make available broadband speeds of up to 20 megabits per second (Mbps) – more than double the maximum speeds previously available to the majority of UK homes and businesses.

The technology is already available in Bridgnorth, Church Stretton, Cuckoo Oak, Dawley, Ludlow, Shrewsbury, Stirchley and Telford, and is expected to reach 87 per cent of West Midlands' premises by the summer of next year.

John Dovey, BT's West Midlands regional director, said: "BT's roll-out of faster broadband across Shropshire is running at a very rapid pace."

Richard Sheehan, managing director of Shropshire Chamber of Commerce, said: "We very much welcome this latest announcement from BT.Faster broadband is going to play an essential role in the future success of the county.

"In an increasingly competitive and technological world it is essential that local businesses and households have access to high-speed communications."

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