Somerset leads UK for broadband take-up

According to figures from BT, Somerset has the highest take-up rate of ADSL broadband in the UK, with more than 47 per cent of homes and businesses in Somerset connected to broadband via ADSL (a technology which enables fast data transmission over copper telephone lines). Somerset has improved its position from third place last year.

Uptake of the technology is forging ahead in the South West region as a whole, with Cornwall remaining in second place with 46.3 per cent, while 45.1 per cent of homes and businesses in Oxfordshire are connected to broadband via ADSL.

Over the South West region, the take-up of ADSL broadband is 37.8 per cent, compared with the national average of 29.9 per cent.

According to Sally Wilcox, BT’s regional director for the South West, public sector broadband partnerships, such as Connecting Somerset, have played an important role in helping local firms benefit from the technology, and contribute to the economic success of the region.

BT has over 900,000 wholesale broadband connections in the South West and more than 8.5 million across the UK. This beats the company’s initial target of five million connections by the end of 2006. All BT exchanges in South West England are equipped with broadband.