Openreach reveals that thousands of people in Alnwick area are missing out on faster broadband

While 41 per cent of homes and businesses across Northumberland whuch can upgrade to Ultrafast Full Fibre have done so, only one in ten in Alnwick have placed an order for faster, more reliable broadband services.

Following a £1.2 million local investment, Openreach’s chief engineers have been busy building the new network to make ultrafast speeds of up to one gigabit per second (Gbps) available to the majority of the market town.

People living and working there are being encouraged to find out more about the faster broadband – as the latest figures show that Openreach’s Full Fibre network – used by a wide range of service providers including BT, Sky, TalkTalk, Vodafone and Zen – is now available to more than 4,000 premises.

As well as being faster, Full Fibre broadband provides more reliable, resilient and future-proof connectivity, with fewer faults; more predictable, consistent speeds; and enough capacity to use multiple devices at once.

Cllr Richard Wearmouth, deputy leader of Northumberland County Council and portfolio holder for corporate services, said: "It's fantastic that many homes and businesses in Alnwick can now benefit from the fastest broadband speeds available. Good connectivity is vital to our modern lives and can open up a whole host of benefits and opportunities for work and leisure purposes alike.

"I would urge anyone who has fibre broadband available in their area to talk to their supplier about the packages available and take full advantage of the fastest speeds. If you need advice to get online or need help with your digital skills the council has a range of useful resources to help you do so."

Elsewhere, Openreach engineers are also hard at work in Berwick where more than 2,000 households and businesses can already place an order for the new technology.

The company has also announced plans to build in nine other nearby communities - Alnmouth, Amble, Longframlington, Lynemouth, Red Row, Rothbury, Seahouses, Shilbottle and Ulgham.

Robert Thorburn, Openreach’s regional manager for Scotland and the North East, said: “Fast and reliable full fibre broadband gives households and businesses a boost. It can have a huge impact on people’s daily lives and it’s great for the economy too.

“The important thing to remember is that upgrades don’t happen automatically. People need to contact, and place orders through, their broadband provider to take advantage.”

Packages from a wide range of broadband providers are increasingly competitively priced, meaning people may pay similar, or even less, per month than their current bill for a much-improved service.

Suzy Walker, freelance journalist and founder of the Alnwick Story Fest, said: “As well being an amazing place to live Alnwick also has brilliant broadband, which has been of huge benefit throughout the process of organising the Story Fest.

“As someone who mainly works from home it’s vital that I have broadband which is just as good as in a city centre office. Whatever I need to do online – whether it’s video calls or social media lives - I can do it with no concerns that the broadband will let me down.”