24 May 2007

Swindon is the UK's number one town for high-speed broadband connectivity, a new survey has revealed.

However, Milton Keynes is hot on its heels, according to the study by Point-Topic, having risen from 62nd to second place in the last six months.

The research analysed the number of homes in each area with a broadband connection at the end of 2006 and found that some 65.3 per cent of homes in Swindon had one installed, a rise of 5.5 per cent from the end of June.

Dr Katja Mueller, Research Director at Point Topic, commented: "The introduction of 'free' broadband offers, increasing uptake of bundled services and migration from dial-up to broadband have all contributed to the rise of Milton Keynes as the town has a high proportion of families with children, one of the fastest growing broadband demographics."

Milton Keynes had originally struggled to feature broadband, as when the town's phone lines were built in 1967 they were made from aluminium, rather than copper, for price reasons.

The area now has the Milton Keynes Broadband Action Group, which still battles to bring broadband access to those areas where it remains unavailable.

© Adfero Ltd

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