More exchanges get promise of broadband

At Bideford in Devon, a big fat pipe was laid...

BT's broadband registration scheme is showing further signs of success, with 33 local exchanges recently getting the green light to be upgraded to offer ADSL. The telco confirmed on Tuesday that over the last two weeks 15 local exchanges have hit their trigger levels - meaning they have attracted the amount of local interest BT says it needs before it will upgrade the local exchange to offer broadband. A BT Wholesale spokesman said: "Ten exchanges hit the target over Christmas and New Year, followed by another five last week. We've done the checks to make sure all the registrations are valid, and the 15 exchanges have now been added to our build programme." He added that BT's decision last month to streamline its broadband registration scheme meant that these exchanges would get ADSL several weeks earlier than would otherwise be the case. The 15 exchanges in question are:
Bideford, Devon
Caerleon, Gwent
Cheslyn Hay, Staffordshire
Clitheroe, Lancashire
Great Yarmouth Town, Norfolk
Kirby Muxloe, Leicestershire
Lymm, Cheshire
Newhaven, East Sussex
Middlewich, Cheshire
Neston, Cheshire
Ramsey, East of England
Rhiwderin, Gwent
Pershore, Hereford and Worcester
Westhoughton, Greater Manchester
Yaxley, Cambridgeshire BT hasn't yet set a date for when these exchanges will actually begin offering ADSL to local residents, but it is likely to be either during the last week of March or in early April. Last week, BT confirmed that another 18 local exchanges will be fully upgraded to broadband during the last two weeks of March. Graeme Wearden writes for ZDNet UK