BT boosts fibre broadband coverage in East Midlands

Another two East Midlands towns have been included in BT's national fibre optic broadband rollout programme.

Gedling and Mansfield are the latest locations to benefit from the deployment, with more than 57,000 homes and businesses in the area upgraded to receive super-fast broadband, reports the Nottingham Post.

Owen Moody, BT's regional director for the East Midlands, said the introduction of fibre broadband in the two towns would "enrich people's lives" and offer a significant boost to local businesses.

"Fibre broadband will offer local firms and households new ways of working flexibly and allow large data and video files to be sent and received almost instantly," he explained.

BT's next-generation broadband network passes 11 million properties across the UK, with the telecoms giant aiming to increase this coverage to two-thirds of the country by the end of 2014.

The company highlighted issues relating to internet access in the East Midlands last October by revealing almost one in seven local adults had never sent an email.