SUPER-fast broadband is now up and running on a new urban village in Hampshire.

British Telecom engineers installed two cabinets for superfast broadband at Abbotswood near Romsey in April and the new service has now gone live.

Hampshire's leader Roy Perry who has been working alongside, Romsey Extra Parish Council whose patch covers Abbotswood to get the service up and running said: "I am really very pleased to be able to say that, by working collaboratively with all involved, we have been able to find a solution which means that residents of Abbotswood now have access to superfast broadband and at speeds of up to 80Mbps.”

Developers building the 800-home village, Bellway Homes, Bovis Homes and Taylor Wimpey Homes have also been working with BT on the superfast broadband project and the cabinet providing the hi-tech service have been installed in Chivers Road.

Mr Perry added: “Faster internet speeds are a must for most residents and businesses these days and we will continue to work with the organisations involved, in existing and future developments, for all new properties to have access to superfast broadband from ‘day one’.”

Hampshire County Council launched a major programme to roll out superfast broadband across the county earlier this year.

Abbotswood resident and disc jockey, George Winfield, who runs his business, Giant Sounds from home said the superfast broadband service was good news.

“Having a good internet speed is crucial for running my business from home, from downloading music to keeping in touch with clients and doing research. I will definitely be upgrading my service as soon as possible and on behalf of everyone on the estate. I want to thank the Hampshire County Council for making this happen,” said Mr Winfield.

BT’s South East regional director, Stacey King added: ““The agreement at Abbotswood is a great example of Hampshire County Council, developers and Openreach working closely together. The high-speed network installed by Openreach, is available on an open basis to all internet service providers offering households faster internet access and the benefit of real choice from a highly competitive market.”

Putting the developers' point across acting sales director for Taylor Wimpey Southern Counties Sally Prince, speaking on behalf of the Abbotswood Consortium, said: “We understand that having a reliable connection to the internet is vital in this day and age, which is why we felt it was so important to offer BT’s high-quality superfast broadband to our residents at Abbotswood.

“We are thrilled to hear that the broadband is now live at the development, and hope all of our homeowners will enjoy their superfast internet access.”