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Infrastructure provider Openreach has revealed the names of 29 towns, cities and boroughs that are set to benefit from gigabit-capable fibre-to-the-premises (FTTP) broadband in the coming months.
It takes the number of locations included in the company's current plans to 103, with work in the new areas set to commence over the next 18 months.
This marks the first time Openreach has published an extended roadmap for the rollout of FTTP services beyond 12 months, and should see a total of four million homes and businesses connected to the technology by the end of March 2021.
Chief executive of the firm Clive Selley said full-fibre broadband will provide premises with a future-proofed, reliable service that will serve as a platform for prosperity and economic growth throughout the country for years to come.
"We’re now building at a massive scale. Every 28 seconds we pass a home or business with our new future-proofed full fibre network," he continued. "This has given us ever greater confidence in the level and accuracy of whatever we announce - which is why we’ve now laid out our build plans right up to the target delivery date of four million premises by March 2021."
Information about the firm's plans for the next 18 months will be published on its website, which will include the total number of exchanges to be built in each area, as well as information about specific exchanges where FTTP is currently being built, where work has already been completed, and where building will start within the next three months.
The company has raised its target for 2021 from three million to four million premises and is aiming to reach 15 million homes and businesses by the mid-2020s, provided the right investment environment is in place.
It has already laid 2.6 million kilometres of fibre since the programme began in February 2018, with 1.8 million homes and businesses connected so far.
The 29 locations included in the latest announcement are: Aberdeen; Ayr; Aughton; Bradford; Billericay; Brentwood; Basingstoke; Brighton; Balham; Chorley Wood; Derby; Hatch End; Lichfield; Molesey; Northampton; Newbury; Norwich; Newcastle (NI); Ormskirk; Portrush; Portstewart; Rickmansworth; Royal Tunbridge Wells; Stanecastle; Swindon; Thames Ditton; Tonbridge; Watford; and Wickford.
