BT rolls out fibre broadband to Sketty

BT's fibre optic broadband infrastructure has gone live to the first homes and businesses in Sketty, a suburban district west of Swansea.

Engineers from the telecoms giant are set to roll out the service to more than 11,000 properties in the area over the coming weeks, taking the number of Swansea premises with access to BT's super-fast broadband to 56,000 by spring 2013.

Upgrades have already been carried out in Mumbles, while Morriston is set to be connected to the service later this year.

Swansea West AM Julie James welcomed the rollout, commenting: "Access to high-quality internet is as important as any other utility for businesses and households.

"Greater bandwidth and speed provides a wonderful opportunity to bridge the digital divide and encourage business growth."

A report published earlier this year by Regeneris Consulting claimed BT's super-fast broadband rollouts will deliver a £143 million boost to the economy of the Caerphilly area over the next 15 years.