Fibre broadband for thousands more Somerset properties

Thousands more homes in Somerset are poised to benefit from BT's commercial fibre optic broadband rollout.

Ilminster has been named as the latest location to be included in the programme, with more than 3,500 homes and businesses set to be connected over the coming weeks.

Superfast broadband is now available to about 196,000 properties across Somerset and this number is expected to surpass 230,000 by next spring.

Upgrades have already been completed in several other local communities - including Taunton, Yeovil, Bath, Weston-super-Mare, Glastonbury, Frome and Wellington - thanks to the £2.5 billion commercial project.

Furthermore, the telecoms giant has teamed up with the public sector to reach rural parts of the county under the Connecting Devon and Somerset initiative, which aims to bring the technology within reach of around 90 per cent of properties by the end of 2016.

Jon Reynolds, BT's Regional Director for the south-west, said: "BT's rollout of fibre broadband in Ilminster represents a major investment, which will provide a big boost for the local economy."