BT doubling broadband speeds in the North East

Looks like more residents in the North East will be enjoying faster broadband speeds soon, now that BT is planning on extending their next generation copper broadband service to the area. It’s not that the current connections provided by BT are slow; in fact, they’re pretty fast already. But hey, if BT wants to make things even faster, then why not? I’m sure a lot of people, especially those in the North East, would be pleased to hear this news.

It’s not just a minor upgrade or increase in broadband speeds that we’re talking about either. Once the new broadband service is rolled out to the included areas (which we’ll be listing later), BT’s updated service will be allowing speeds of up to 20 megabits per second–which is more than double the current maximum speed of 10 megabits per second!

The areas that will be benefiting from BT’s new investment are: Lynemouth, Northumberland, Washington, Tyne and Wear, Sherburn Hill, Ingleby Barwick, Teesside, and the Sacriston and Ebchester areas of County Durham.

This news comes amidst an announcement that BT customers will be able to enjoy free access to the online streaming game service, OnLive, for three months.

Lynemouth’s city councillor, Milburn Douglas, expresses his delight at the recent news, saying: “It’s wonderful because we’re getting regeneration, which goes hand-in-hand with broadband for new homeowners coming into the area. A lot of senior citizens are also using computers now so it also benefits them.”

Around 53 areas across the Lynemouth region already benefit from the increased broadband speeds, including Cramlington, Boldon, Jesmond, Whitley Bay, Jarrow, Redcar and Gosforth.

The regional director of BT’s North East arm, Chris Sayers, explains the company’s latest move: “Our latest investment in the North East marks another major milestone in the development of the region’s communications. It will deliver an important benefit for local businesses as well as home workers, helping to boost their efficiency and competitiveness, while households can make use of the many additional educational and entertainment benefits available with faster broadband.”

Sayers relates the current expansion in the North East to BT’s plans for the future, adding: “But these investments are by no means the full extent of our ambition. There are areas – mainly rural, less populated ones – where the private and public sectors will need to work together to make faster broadband available.”

It is expected that approximately 76% of North Eastern UK will be upgraded to the faster broadband service by Spring of 2012.

Source – Journal Live