Broadband reaching out across eastern counties

Scores more towns and villages across the East of England are to benefit from a “huge” high-speed internet update, a broadband provider has confirmed.

Openreach said full-fibre broadband was heading to a further 67 locations – in Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire, Essex, Hertfordshire, Norfolk and Suffolk.

The firm said those areas would join more than 1.2 million homes and businesses across the region which already had access.

A spokesperson said it had plans to bring full fibre broadband to 517 more locations across the UK – covering a further 2.7 million homes and businesses.

“We plan to build even further across the region, to more cities and towns, and our most rural communities,” said Kieran Wines, regional director for the East.

“And our engineers, of which more than 3,500 live in the region, are doing this at a rapid pace – despite this being a hugely complex engineering project.”

The towns and villages in line to benefit are:

• Bedfordshire: Blunham, Hockliffe, Houghton Regis, Hexton, Ravensden, Toddington
• Cambridgeshire: Burwell, Crafts Hill, Cheveley, Fowlmere, Harston, Melbourn, King’s Hedges – Cambridge, Steeple Morden, Sawston, Swavesey, West Wratting, Chatteris, Kimbolton, Newton, Parson Drove, Papworth St Agnes
• Essex: Birch, Chafford, Earls Colne Fordham, Great Bardfield, Great Horkesley, Great Yeldham, Harlow, Marks Tey, Ongar, Purleigh, Ridgewell, Ramsey, Saffron Walden, Steeple Bumpstead, Tilbury
• Hertfordshire: Barkway, Much Hadham, Puckeridge, Stanstead Abbots, Berkhamsted, Tring
• Norfolk: Brancaster, Dickleburgh, Foulsham, Horning, Methwold, Pulham Market, Southrepps, Southery, Surlingham, Thursford, Tittleshall
• Suffolk: Bacton, Bildeston, Barrow, Clare, Claydon, East Bergholt, Exning Grundisburgh, Holbrook, Kessingland, Nayland, Snape

A spokesman said the work was part of a £15bn Openreach project to upgrade the UK’s broadband infrastructure – and make “gigabit-capable technology” available to 25 million homes and businesses by the end of 2026.

He said more than 4.7 million UK homes and businesses had already upgraded to full fibre.