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Network infrastructure provider Openreach has confirmed it will be bringing its high-speed G.fast technology to a further 81 towns and cities up and down the UK over the next nine months.
This is expected to connect an additional one million homes and businesses to the network, which seeks to deliver much higher speeds to premises without the need for costly and time-consuming full-fibre deployments.
The technology uses existing cabling and works by running a fibre line from the telephone exchange to the street-level cabinet, where newly-installed side pods provide a significant boost to the signal strength.
As a result, end-users can benefit from download speeds of up to 330Mps using their existing copper communications cables.
Locations including London, Manchester, Birmingham and Leicester are among the largest cities to be part of the latest expansion of the scheme, which aims to cover 5.7 million premises in the coming years, in addition to ten million homes and businesses that should have a full fibre connection by the mid-2020s.
Kim Mears, managing director for strategic infrastructure development at Openreach, said: "Currently, the UK is a world leader in digital infrastructure and services, but as the digital revolution rushes forwards and the demand for data continues to grow, we need to be sure we stay ahead of the curve."
As well as providing faster headline speeds, G.fast also promises to be more reliable than existing technology, thanks to advanced monitoring software that can detect and manage service-affecting issues as soon as they occur.
Openreach claims the technology is also futureproofed, providing enough additional capacity for future "data-hungry services" such as virtual reality streaming and smart homes, which are expected to incorporate a large network of online sensors that can coordinate and control a range of appliances, from thermostats, door bells and security cameras to door locks, lawn sprinklers, window blinds and washing machines.
