Broadband News

BT reveals next-gen broadband locations

Monday, 23 March 2009

By Garnet Roach garnet@consumerchoices.co.uk

The first locations where “substantial numbers of customers will have access to fibre-based super-fast broadband via BT’s network” have been revealed today.

BT Broadband (www.BT.com) announced that 29 local exchanges will be upgraded to deploy fibre to the cabined (FTTC) from early next year.

This will bring speeds of up to 40Mb - and possibly even 60Mb - to 500,000 homes and businesses.

Areas of Belfast, Cardiff, Edinburgh, Glasgow, London and Greater Manchester will be among the first locations to benefit from fibre deployment, and while the majority of locations are urban, two of them - in Calder Valley, near Halifax) and Taffs Well, near Cardiff - are not and BT has said that it “will be looking to learn lessons from deploying fibre in such environments”.

Steve Robertson, CEO of Openreach, the division of BT responsible for the delivery of the plans, said: “Super-fast broadband is essential to the UK’s future and so it is great to announce this initial set of locations.

“The wider industry will now be able to plan ahead as we will be making our services available on a wholesale basis. This approach will benefit customers as there will undoubtedly be fierce competition for their business.”

Pilot schemes will launch in Muswell Hill, London and Whitchurch, Wales this summer while further FTTC locations - set to serve a further one million homes and businesses - will be announced in autumn.

Michael Phillips, BroadbandChoices.co.uk product director, said: “Finally the UK is beginning to catch up in the global broadband stakes. Between Virgin Media’s (www.VM.com) XXL 50Mb broadband service, BT’s FTTC and its up to 100Mb fibre to the home deployment in new-build areas such as Ebbsfleet in Kent, the face of broadband Britain is slowly changing.

“However, the same issues face next generation broadband as have left many homes unable to reach speeds of even 2Mb. Rural areas must not be left behind in the race for ever faster speeds,” he warned.