Openreach to invest in faster broadband network in Bourne, Crowland, Donington, Gosberton, Holbeach, Kirton, Long Sutton, Market Deeping, Moulton Chapel, Moulton, Spalding, Sutton Bridge and Swineshead

Openreach has today unveiled major plans to upgrade the broadband network in Lincolnshire - with exchanges in 13 locations in our area to be upgraded to handle ultra-fast speeds.

The company, which manages the nation's broadband infrastructure, is extending its full fibre connections to 120,000 homes in Lincolnshire.

Exchanges being upgraded include those in Bourne, Crowland, Donington, Gosberton, Holbeach, Kirton, Long Sutton, Market Deeping, Moulton Chapel, Moulton, Spalding, Sutton Bridge and Swineshead.

The news follows announcements from Lightspeed Broadband and Netomnia that they both plan to install speedier connections here.

We revealed at the start of the month that Openreach still planned to upgrade the area, even with the likes of Lightspeed investing here.

The government wants to be able to offer 'gigabit capable broadband' to 85% of homes by 2025 and this latest investment should help the area reach that target.

Kasam Hussain, Openreach’s regional director for the East Midlands, said: “Building a new Ultrafast broadband network across the East Midlands is a massive challenge and some parts of the region will inevitably require public funding. But our expanded build plan means taxpayer subsidies can be limited to only the hardest to connect homes and businesses. And with investments from other network builders, we’d hope to see that shrink further.

“This is a hugely complex, nationwide engineering project. It will help level-up the UK because the impact of full fibre broadband stretches from increased economic prosperity and international competitiveness, to higher employment and environmental benefits. We’re also delighted to continue bucking the national trend by creating more jobs in the region, with apprentices joining in their droves to start their careers as engineers.

“We’ll publish further location details and timescales on our website as the detailed surveys and planning are completed and the build progresses.”

Download speeds of 1 Gbps would be about 25 times faster than the current average speed in South Holland.

Openreach says this means faster game downloads, better quality video calls and higher resolution movie streaming - as well as the ability to use multiple devices without causing slowdown.