Malvern councillor pleased at fibre optic broadband decision

A Malvern council chief has hailed BT's decision to bring fibre optic broadband to the Worcestershire town by the end of 2012 at the latest.

Simon Smith, economic redevelopment officer at Malvern Hills District Council, said the news is particularly welcome after the community missed out in the telecoms giant's Race to Infinity initiative, reports the Malvern Gazette.

"We were hoping that we'd sent a strong message to BT about Malvern's interest in high-speed broadband," he remarked. "This is something that will benefit businesses and residents alike."

Under BT's plans, almost 15,000 homes and businesses in the area will get access to fibre-to-the-cabinet broadband, offering download speeds of up to 40Mbps - potentially rising to 60Mbps in the future.

The company revealed a total of 156 telephone exchanges across the UK are set to be hooked up to fibre broadband, with more than 50 of these in line to be upgraded before the end of this summer.