Massive broadband expansion to elevate West Midlands connectivity

A substantial broadband upgrade by Openreach is set to transform connectivity across the West Midlands, bringing full fibre broadband to an additional 36 towns and villages in the region.

Residents of Halesowen, Stourbridge, Warwick, and 35 other communities are poised to benefit from this latest expansion. This initiative adds to the over 1.25 million homes and businesses in the region that already enjoy access to full fibre broadband, courtesy of Openreach’s ongoing efforts.

Nationally, Openreach has revised its construction plans, now aiming to extend full fibre broadband to a staggering 517 additional locations, impacting an additional 2.71 million homes and businesses.

Kasam Hussain, Openreach’s regional director for the Midlands, commented on the scope and ambition of the project: “This is a huge infrastructure success story across the Midlands. 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 region, to more cities and towns, and our most rural communities. And our engineers, of which more than 3,500 live in the region, are doing this at a rapid pace – despite this being a hugely complex engineering project.”

Hussain also highlighted the proactive steps residents need to take to benefit from the upgrades: “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!”

Openreach’s network supports a broad range of service providers including BT, Sky, TalkTalk, Vodafone, and Zen, ensuring consumers have a variety of choices and can secure competitive deals.

This development is part of Openreach’s ambitious £15 billion project aimed at making gigabit-capable technology accessible to 25 million homes and businesses by the end of 2026, with a special focus on reaching 6.2 million locations in more remote and rural areas.

Currently, more than 4.7 million UK homes and businesses have transitioned to Full Fibre, with demand surging as over 50,000 orders are placed each week.

To aid in transparency and planning, Openreach has updated its online map and postcode checker, providing a clearer and regularly updated snapshot of its construction plans and progress up to 2026. The updated tools show both current and expected future full fibre coverage, while the postcode checker offers a detailed view of the connectivity options available to specific homes and businesses.

Updates on any additional locations or changes to the project will be provided as they become available.