June 16, 2011 11.28 am This story is over 153 months old

Broadband heaven for more Lincoln homes

Fibre optic: BT will upgrade the Lincoln exchange in 2012, leading to 31,000 more superfast connections available.

Some 31,000 extra homes in and around Lincoln, including Bracebridge Heath, will be able to get access to BT’s fibre optics broadband network.

The company announced Lincoln is the latest exchange in the region to receive upgrades, which are expected to be completed some time during 2012.

However, BT notes that due to the current network topography, it is likely some properties won’t able to get fibre-based broadband right away.

The upgrade is part of BT’s £2.5 billion roll-out programme, aiming to take the number of East Midlands homes and businesses passed by the new super-fast network to more than 700,000.

The Lincoln exchange improvements are set to offer surfing speeds of 40Mbps and download speeds 10Mbps, with the potential to reach 60Mbps for download and 15MBps for upload in the future.

As previously reported, Birchwood, a black spot for broadband connectivity, will receive connections upgrades as well by the end of this year.

Across Lincolnshire, Sudbrook Park, Washingborough and Stamford are also set to benefit from new, fast exchanges, later in 2012.

Richard Hardesty from Lincolnshire County Council’s Onlincolnshire project, said: “This is excellent news for homes and businesses in Lincoln and a big step forward for broadband access in the city.

“However, this will still leave many locations throughout the county with little or no broadband access.

“Through people and businesses registering their interest online, the County Council is continuing to encourage commercial suppliers to invest in next generation broadband services in Lincolnshire.”

Paul Bimson, BTs regional partnership director for the East Midlands, said: “It’s great news that more homes and businesses in the East Midlands are joining the world’s fastest growing fibre optic network.

“We plan to bring super-fast fibre broadband to two-thirds of the UK, but this isn’t the full extent of our ambition.

“We are determined to push beyond current commercial boundaries to work with public sector partners to reach the more challenging final third,” Bimson added.

Source: BT | Photo: Samantha Fisher for The Lincolnite | Related Report: Lincolnshire Echo