Huge UK broadband speed boost confirmed - is your postcode finally getting upgraded?

UK broadband boost

UK broadband boost (Image: GETTY)

There’s finally good news for those suffering from dismal download speeds. It’s just been confirmed that around 80,000 homes in more rural areas are getting a huge speed boost. The upgrade is thanks to BT’s Openreach network which is expanding its Full Fibre rollout to 21 extra locations including Belmont, in Lancashire; Cheriton Bishop, in Devon; Didcot, in Oxfordshire; Innsworth, in Gloucestershire; Silverdale, in Lancashire; and Woburn Sands, in Buckinghamshire.

For those not aware, Fibre to the Premises (FTTP) offers far superior speeds than old-fashioned copper cables.

Those ageing wires that dangle above streets can only whizz files and films to devices at speeds of around 70Mbps. Get FTTP in your street and things can get as fast as 1Gbps - that’s well over 10 times faster.

As a guide, those with 1Gbps broadband would be able to download a full HD movie to their TV in under 40 seconds.

“This is a UK infrastructure success story, so it makes sense for us, and the country, to push hard on the accelerator pedal. Our new network is helping to drive economic growth, create jobs, and will be the backbone of a prosperous, globally connected and competitive UK," Clive Selley, CEO of Openreach, explained.

“Last year was our biggest year of build ever - reaching well over four million homes with this life changing technology. No other builder across Europe has achieved that kind of build rate and this year will be our biggest ever.”

Download speed chart

Download speed chart (Image: EXPRESS)

Openreach reckons it has now added over four million homes to its fibre service this year alone.

Ultimately, the company says it expects to make Full Fibre available to as many as 30 million premises by 2030, assuming there’s a supportive economic and regulatory environment.

If you want to know what Openreach speeds are available in your location, you can check your postcode here. It's worth noting that Openreach technology is used by providers such as BT, Sky and Vodafone. There are also other networks across the UK that also supply fast fibre including Vrgin Media, Hyperoptic, Community Fibre and CityFibre so it's also worth checking your postcode on the Ofcom website as well.

Full list of locations that are getting the speed upgrade.

Churchdown • Silverdale • North Benfleet • Cheriton Bishop • St. Michaels

Belmont • Allendale • Great Barton • Potter Heigham • Woburn Sands