Superfast broadband arrives in Yorkshire

Around 15,000 householders and firms are among the first in Britain to benefit from BT's roll-out of fibre-based broadband as engineers complete the local upgrades over the next few weeks.

BT has announced plans to invest up to 2.5bn in the technology, which could become available to around two-thirds of UK premises by 2015 if investment conditions are favourable.

Fibre to street cabinets offers download speeds of up to 40megabytes per second (Mb/s), potentially rising to 60Mb/s in future.

The fast speeds will power new business applications and more sophisticated home and entertainment services.

In the coming months, Pontefract exchange will also be upgraded – offering the service to another 15,000 local homes and businesses by late summer.

It is likely a minority will not initially be able to receive the new service but BT is looking at alternative solutions for these locations.

The BT regional director for Yorkshire and the Humber, John Anderson, said fibre-based broadband in Castleford will support local jobs and the local economy.

"We are very open to holding discussions with public sector organisations, such as regional development agencies and local councils, to explore ways of bringing superfast, fibre-based broadband to locations where the economics are more challenging, he added.

Yvette Cooper, MP for Castleford, Pontefract, Normanton and Knottingley, said: "The arrival of super-fast broadband is good news for local businesses in Castleford who will now be among the first to get the chance to use faster new technology"