HIGH-speed fibre-based broadband is now available to the first homes and businesses in Ipswich, Woodbridge, Felixstowe and Haverhill, BT announced today.

More than 54,000 householders and firms will get the option of faster speeds in the coming weeks as engineers complete local upgrades.

BT’s local network business, Openreach, aims to make the high-speed technology available to around two-thirds of UK homes and businesses by the end of 20141.

It will use a mix of fibre to the cabinet (FTTC) and fibre to the premises (FTTP) technologies.

FTTC, where fibre is delivered to the street cabinet, offers download speeds of up to 80Mbps. FTTP, where fibre runs all the way to homes and businesses, currently offers download speeds of 110Mbps and these are expected to be increased to 330Mbps shortly.

Dave Hughes, BT regional director for the East of England, said: “The advent of fibre broadband in these areas is a massive fillip for businesses and households.

“It will enrich people’s lives and bring a much-needed boost to businesses in these economically challenging times. They’re joining ten million UK premises which are now passed by one of the world’s fastest growing fibre networks.

“Fibre broadband will offer local firms and households new ways of working flexibly and allow large data and video files to be sent and received almost instantly. Other benefits include access to high quality videoconferencing and better back-up of computer systems.

“No-one is doing more than BT to bring faster broadband to Suffolk, but we want to take the technology even further. Local authorities and business organisations want fibre broadband to reach as many local homes and businesses as possible and we are offering to work with them to achieve their aspirations, while progressing our own plans to accelerate speeds in general.”

Christopher Soule, Chairman of Suffolk Federation of Small Businesses (FSB), said “This is great news for Suffolk. The FSB has always been a keen advocate of accelerating the deployment of high speed broadband across Suffolk

Fast broadband is an essential tool for local businesses and their customers alike, and is recognised globally as a catalyst for the creation of new jobs and businesses.

It will also transform the lives of local families, whether they’re using the technology for social networking, entertainment, education, or indeed in the future, as possible beneficiaries of telemedicine.”

Openreach offers fibre broadband access to all service providers on an open, wholesale basis.