Openreach to upgrade broadband in Bedlington, Belford, Embleton, Prudhoe and Seaton Delaval

More than 21,000 people living and working in Bedlington, Belford, Embleton, Prudhoe and Seaton Delaval are next in line for full fibre.

They join more than 69,000 homes and businesses across the county who already have access to the broadband technology, thanks to Openreach’s work.

Robert Thorburn, Openreach regional director for the north, said: “This is a huge infrastructure success story across Northumberland. No company is building faster or further in Europe, that we’re aware of.

“We won’t be stopping either. We plan to build even further across the county, to more towns, villages and our most rural communities.

“And our engineers are doing this at a rapid pace - despite this being a hugely complex engineering project.

“Our fibre checker has the latest information about our work in your area. It’s also worth noting that upgrades aren’t automatic. Once full fibre is available where you live, you’ll need to place an order to get connected and we’ll do the rest!”

The work is all part of Openreach’s £15 billion project to upgrade the UK’s broadband infrastructure – making gigabit-capable technology available to 25 million homes and businesses by the end of 2026, including 6.2 million in harder to reach more remote and rural areas.

More than 4.7 million homes and businesses across the UK have already upgraded to full fibre.

Openreach has also refreshed its online map and postcode checker to give a clearer, regularly updated view of its plans and progress between now and 2026.