10,000th customer signs up to Superfast Cornwall fibre broadband

Electronics manufacturer Arcol UK has become the 10,000th customer to sign up for BT's Superfast Cornwall fibre optic broadband service.

Established in 1952, the company has become one of the first based at Truro's Threemilestone Industrial Estate to connect to the fibre-to-the-premise broadband product, which has delivered a 60-fold increase in speeds.

Arcol said the service will help it cut costs, allow more efficient and flexible working, and enable it to build stronger relationships with customers.

Members of the company's sales and marketing teams are equipped with iPads and will soon be able to use them to access the office network via an interactive portal.

Superfast Cornwall is a partnership between BT, Cornwall Council and the EU. It is expected to bring fibre optic broadband to more than 80 per cent of homes and businesses in Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly by the end of 2014.

Alternative services, including wireless and satellite, will be used to boost speeds in areas not deemed viable for fibre broadband deployments.

Ranulf Scarbrough, BT's Superfast Cornwall programme director, said: "Progress has been excellent, but there is still much to be done and many challenges lie ahead in creating this world-class network."