BT says Brits should be proud of fibre broadband rollout

The UK should be proud of the speed at which BT is rolling out fibre optic broadband, according to Olivia Garfield, the chief executive of Openreach.

Speaking to the Yorkshire Post Business Club, Ms Garfield said the company is currently connecting more than 16,000 properties across the UK to its super-fast broadband network.

In terms of percentage of population covered, Britain is ahead of European counterparts such as France, Germany, Italy and Spain, she claimed.

Furthermore, the Openreach chief said BT's investment in the technology - which amounts to £2.5 billion - will put the UK "far, far above" any other similarly-sized nation.

"I think that there's an immense amount of pride that we should all be taking in how we are rolling out fibre," Ms Garfield commented.

"We are doing it three times as quick as any other nation has done it."

BT this week announced the latest phase of its national fibre optic broadband rollout, with the company set to upgrade a further 163 exchanges during 2013.

The work will bring BT's super-fast broadband service within reach of more than one million additional homes and businesses.