Black Country LEP praises BT fibre broadband rollout

A West Midlands local enterprise partnership (LEP) has welcomed news that BT will bring fibre optic broadband to thousands more properties in Birmingham.

During 2013, the company will extend its super-fast broadband coverage to around 42,000 more homes and businesses in the city, including 4,200 in Calthorpe, nearly 7,000 in Springfield and 10,700 in Woodgate.

Once the work is finished, more than 1.2 million West Midlands properties will be passed by BT's fibre optic broadband network.

Phil Brown, private sector lead on business support for the Black Country LEP, said the rollout is excellent news for many local residents.

"Reliable, fast connections can make all the difference to education and business, and give people much greater scope for interaction with the world around them," he added.

Last year, BT boosted the West Midlands economy by more than £1 billion and supported over 19,000 jobs through the expenditure of its employees and its work with suppliers, according to a recent report from Regeneris Consulting.