THOUSANDS of homes across Dorset are set to benefit from a major broadband boost after a £9m investment in services.

Openreach is to invest the sum of cash into improved full fibre broadband provision for nearly 30,000 households and businesses in Dorset and also Somerset.

The operator says when work is finished, “the majority of people living and working in Poole” will be able to contact their broadband provider and upgrade to full fibre.

This is a further boost for the south west where more than 650,000 homes and businesses can now access full fibre on the Openreach network, with tens of thousands more announced in future plans.

Connie Dixon, Openreach regional director for the south west, said: “We’re passing more than 50,000 new homes and businesses every week and installing around 800 metres of cable every minute, with our teams of highly skilled engineers working alongside our build partners to deliver some of the fastest and most reliable broadband available anywhere in the world.

“We’ve already reached more than 7 million homes and businesses across the UK with ultrafast full fibre technology including more than more than 650,000 in the south west, but we know there’s more to do and we’re committed to doing it.”