People living in St Austell will be amongst the first in the UK to benefit from a new ultrafast broadband technology being developed by Openreach, BT’s local network business.
The company has announced the Cornish town as a pilot location for its new ultrafast technology, known as G.fast, which provides download speeds of up to 330Mbps – more than 10 times the UK national average.
Openreach plans to make G.fast available to more than 10 million UK homes and businesses by the end of 2020.
Thousands of premises in St Austell will be given access to the technology during 2017 with details about exactly where and when to be published shortly.
News of the pilot has been given a warm welcome by Cornwall Council.
Julian German, cabinet member for economy and culture at Cornwall Council, said: “This is more great news for Cornwall. We already have a great reputation for pioneering initiatives, such as the Superfast Cornwall broadband partnership, which has made Cornwall one of the best connected rural areas in Europe.
“Now we are seeing Cornwall play a leading role in the development of this exciting G.fast technology. High-speed broadband is making a major contribution to the success and prosperity of Cornwall – and all this is just the start of a very exciting journey, which is transforming the opportunities for households and businesses across Cornwall.”
