MORE than 30,000 homes and businesses across Worcestershire are now able to access faster fibre broadband as part of the multi-million pound ‘Superfast Worcestershire’ programme.

The latest communities to get high-speed fibre broadband for the first time include parts of Chaddesley Corbett and Hartlebury.

In addition, the high-speed technology has recently been made more widely available in parts of Belbroughton.

Other areas in Worcestershire to benefit include Elmley Caste, Hanley Swan, Upton on Severn and Kempsey.

The achievement marks just over the half-way point in the project and comes around a year after the partnership, between Worcestershire County Council and BT, began connecting the first premises in the county.

Bill Murphy, BT’s managing director of next generation access, said: “The Superfast Worcestershire programme has made fantastic progress to reach this important milestone, bringing high-speed fibre broadband to some of the most challenging areas in the county.

“This new technology is providing a major boost for local households and businesses in Worcestershire, whether they are using it to work more efficiently and find new customers or for online learning and leisure – everything is quicker and better with faster fibre broadband.”

Councillor Simon Geraghty, from the county council, said: “The Superfast Worcestershire programme continues to go from strength-to-strength, with more homes and businesses than ever before able to access faster fibre broadband in communities up and down the county.

“As we mark the half way point, I am delighted that the project continues to be on budget and ahead of schedule.”

Residents wanting updates on the fibre roll-out can visit www.superfastworcestershire.com to register for further updates.