'Superfast' broadband scheme expanded in Dorset

Optic fibre technology can bring greatly increased download speeds

About 30,000 more homes and businesses in Dorset are to get superfast broadband, BT has announced.

Dorchester, Poole and Ferndown are the latest towns to be included in the company's £2.5bn national super-fast fibre broadband programme.

They will be upgraded to speeds of up to 300Mbps by spring, the firm says. Ofcom say the average actual speed of all UK broadband is 6.8Mbps.

Dorchester councillor, Richard Biggs, said he was "delighted".

"This is great news for Dorchester's businesses and residents alike, who will be able to use IT applications for work and leisure in the same way as people in the major cities across Britain and the world," he said.

The broadband services are also in place in Wimborne, Boscombe, Bournemouth, Weymouth, Portland, Blandford, Lytchett Minster, Verwood and Broadstone.