Fibre broadband for 62,000 more Black Country properties

Some 62,000 more homes and businesses in the Black Country are enjoying faster broadband after BT carried out work to upgrade the internet infrastructure there.

Bilston is the latest community to benefit from the initiative, with 12,500 properties to be included in the fibre optic broadband rollout. Brierley Hill (12,500 properties), Fordhouses (7,500), Penn (12,400) and Stourbridge are also set to gain access to faster internet connectivity thanks to the project.

It means download speeds of up to 80Mbps are now possible for 1.43 million homes and businesses in the region, making it perfect for watching films and uploading bandwidth-hungry documents.

BT's regional director for the West Midlands John Dovey said having download speeds that are significantly faster than those possible before is an excellent step forward because broadband is now such an essential.

"The arrival of fibre in these communities can really help local firms in these economically challenging times, opening up new ways of working and speeding up vital operations," he pointed out.