Full-fibre broadband to reach more of the UK

Openreach, the BT-owned operator of Britain's biggest broadband network, has announced plans to start rolling out ultrafast full-fibre broadband to 227 rural communities across the UK. 

Building work is set to commence in villages, market towns, and rural areas in the next 14 months.

Some 250,000 homes and businesses should benefit. 

The UK lags behind many other EU countries when it comes to broadband coverage. 

Last September, telecoms watchdog Ofcom said 8% of all UK premises were fully connected to full-fibre broadband. 

Full-fibre has the potential to offer much faster internet speeds than other alternatives. 

New locations to be connected by Openreach include Aberdare in South Wales and Saxmundham in Suffolk. 

Openreach is aiming to connect 15 million premises to full fibre broadband by the mid-2020s, but has warned it will only be able to do this with government help. 

The broadband industry has called on the government to scrap taxes for connecting businesses to full-fibre broadband. 

"Currently, the biggest missing piece of this puzzle, is getting an exemption from business rates on building fibre cables, which is critical for any fibre builder's long-term investment case," said Openreach chief executive Clive Selley. 

Openreach has connected more than two million premises to full-fibre broadband and wants that figure to rise to four million by March 2021.