Member Article

Liverpool set to spearhead ultrafast broadband push as part of Openreach plans

Those living in parts of Liverpool city centre are set to be the first to benefit from access to a new ultra fast broadband network that will provide download speeds up to ten times the national average.

The city will be one of 26 new locations across the UK which will pilot the latest G.fast technology as part of Openreach’s national roll out of ultrafast broadband to 12m homes and businesses.

The plans, unveiled today (Thursday), will provide 500,000 premises across the country with early access to the new service which will boast download speeds of 330Mbps, with the rollout expected to reach one million properties by the end of the year.

It comes as 100,000 customers are already benefitting from ultrafast speeds thanks to Openreach’s G.fast and Fibre-to-the-Premises technology, with the aim of rolling this out to 10m premises by 2020.

Matthew Hemmings, Openreach’s regional director for the North, said: “This is great news for Liverpool. It’s a real coup to be at the forefront of the rollout of ultrafast broadband.

“Now we’ve identified this latest group of pilot locations, engineers will begin installing the new network. It will take a few months before people are able to use it.”

The infrastructure provider has already carried out early G.fast trials in Cambridgeshire, Newcastle and South Wales, and has a further 20 trials already underway across the UK.

Hemmings added that the new ultrafast technology was a ‘key part’ of Openreach’s work, particularly as the demand for faster speeds becomes ever greater.

He said: “Faster speeds are more important than ever, and we’re sure our new ultrafast network will play an important part in the future success of the UK.”