Fibre broadband finally arrives for South Gloucestershire residents

Properties that are covered by a broadband cabinet in South Gloucestershire have finally been introduced to superfast speeds after nearly three years of waiting.

BT announced in early 2011 that it would be upgrading the exchange in the Bradley Stoke area of the region to give homes and business access to superfast speeds, reports the Bradley Stoke Journal.

However, repeated delays meant the corner of the town served by the Filton cabinet had become recognised as a 'digital ghetto' by some. This included an area that covered 4,000 premises not included by Virgin Media's existing network.

The first phase of the installation - which is a collaboration between BT and South Gloucestershire Council -  has seen around 20 properties connected to the next-generation service. Some of the first residents to receive the service have revealed they now enjoy download speeds of around 73Mbps.

Bradley's Stoke's upgrade comes amid numerous criticisms of BT and the government's Broadband Delivery UK scheme, which aims to improve fibre optic coverage all over the country.