NTL increases broadband coverage

NEWS People in Norwich and Great Yarmouth can now sign up for broadband via NTL's cable network. NTL has upgraded its network in the area, so that it supports its 600Kbps and 1Mbps Internet access packages. The company is also hoping to encourage Norwich and Great Yarmouth residents to get broadband by providing free installation and a Webcam to anyone who signs up. It is thought that this upgrade will make cable broadband available to around 100,000 local residents. "This is part of an ongoing process to make broadband available to as many people as possible," an NTL spokesman told ZDNet UK on Monday. NTL's cable network covers 8.4 million homes, of which around one million cannot currently get cable broadband. This is because NTL's network was created partly through acquiring other cable companies in the 1990s, and some of these franchises are still not capable of supporting broadband. NTL insists, though, that it is committed to upgrading all its franchises to support broadband. The company announced late last year that it had signed up its 500,000th broadband customer. Graeme Wearden