Kitz Forum

Announcements => News Articles => Topic started by: Black Sheep on September 09, 2016, 07:24:49 AM

Title: Fact sheets from BT CEO
Post by: Black Sheep on September 09, 2016, 07:24:49 AM
Quote from: Gavin E. Patterson, CEO BT Group plc
There are a number of misconceptions around at the moment about the health of the nation’s internet. So, if you get asked questions by friends, family or customers, here are the facts about superfast broadband coverage that you can use to help set the record straight.

The rollout of superfast broadband is one of the quickest and most ambitious anywhere in the world. And it’s available for all communications providers to use.

More households are now using superfast broadband in the UK than in Germany, France, Italy or Spain.

Nine out of ten UK homes have access to superfast broadband. And we’re adding another home every 30 seconds.

Over 91% of UK premises have access to superfast broadband.

We’re on track to help government achieve their target of 95% coverage by the end of 2017. And we want to go even further.

Thanks for helping us put the record straight by keeping to the facts above.

Did you know?

Independent research shows if we had only used FTTP (Fibre to the premises) technology rather than a mix of FTTP and FTTC (Fibre to the cabinet), the UK would now be at c40% coverage rather than the 91% coverage we have today. This means many more can benefit from superfast broadband.

Openreach has built the largest FTTP network in the UK offering services to more than 300,000 homes and businesses

Openreach will roll out ultrafast speeds via G.fast to 10m premises by the end of 2020 and aims to connect up to an additional 2m premises with FTTP by 2020

The UK leads the top 5 EU economies on virtually all key measures of superfast broadband coverage, take-up, use and competition

There are more than 100 fibre broadband providers to choose from

Heard this?

Only 2% of people in the UK can get fibre broadband.

That’s incorrect. Through a mix of technologies FTTC, FTTP and third party networks more than 91% of UK premises have access to superfast broadband.

The 2% claim relates to just one type of fibre broadband, namely FTTP and ignores the vast FTTC network we have built.

[Moderator edited to insert an attribution to the author.]
Title: Re: Fact sheets from BT CEO
Post by: Black Sheep on September 09, 2016, 07:26:23 AM
UK has faster average download speeds than Germany, France, Italy and Spain.

Average UK broadband speeds have doubled in the last three years.

And increased twenty times in the last ten years.
 
Ultrafast speeds over 100mbps are on their way, with up to 12 million homes and businesses benefitting by the end of 2020.
Title: Re: Fact sheets from BT CEO
Post by: Black Sheep on September 09, 2016, 07:27:39 AM
Over the last 10 years BT has invested an average of £1bn every year in the UK infrastructure through Openreach, so the whole industry, and the whole country can benefit.

Last year we invested more than £1.4bn in our Openreach network and BT will continue to invest in the future.

More than 500 communications companies use our network - making the UK one of the most competitive markets for broadband in Europe.

Over the next three years, we plan to spend a further £6 billion on our fixed and mobile networks, delivering broader coverage, faster speeds and better service.

Last year, BT spent £0.5bn on research and development (R&D), making us one of the largest investors in R&D of any company in the UK and globally in the telecoms sector – enabling us to develop the very latest technologies such as G.fast
Title: Re: Fact sheets from BT CEO
Post by: niemand on September 09, 2016, 08:29:35 AM
Thanks for the official word.

Pass the popcorn someone.
Title: Re: Fact sheets from BT CEO
Post by: Chrysalis on September 09, 2016, 09:31:21 AM
I summarise the UK situation like this.

villages and small towns, better than most other countries.
cities, worse than most developed countries.

We done well in certain areas, but poor in others.
Title: Re: Fact sheets from BT CEO
Post by: Black Sheep on September 09, 2016, 09:33:41 AM
Gavin is pretty and justifiably riled at the moment about things .................. "Unfortunately, what we’ve seen recently in the media are a lot of unjust and simply untrue comments about the health of the nation’s broadband."

If you're interested, keep an eye out in the coming weeks for media releases from BT giving the facts about how things truly are, not just someone's opinion on a forum.  :)
Title: Re: Fact sheets from BT CEO
Post by: Dray on September 09, 2016, 05:00:44 PM
Heard this?

Only 2% of people in the UK can get fibre broadband.
This is true actually.

Just because the marketing departments at BT and Virgin can't get their heads around fibre broadband, doesn't make it false. It just means they lack technical training.
Title: Re: Fact sheets from BT CEO
Post by: licquorice on September 09, 2016, 05:13:26 PM
By Gavin's definition, dial-up is fibre broadband in as much as there will be fibre somewhere in the path, much like FTTC. Its just a question of where the fibre finishes and the copper starts.
Title: Re: Fact sheets from BT CEO
Post by: Dray on September 09, 2016, 05:17:28 PM
For fibre broadband the fibre has to end in your home. How can anything else be fibre broadband?
Title: Re: Fact sheets from BT CEO
Post by: licquorice on September 09, 2016, 05:19:53 PM
Quite.
Title: Re: Fact sheets from BT CEO
Post by: GigabitEthernet on September 09, 2016, 06:26:00 PM
I hate to be the cynic but the head of BT can hardly be called impartial can he now. I would take his "facts" with a giant pinch of salt.
Title: Re: Fact sheets from BT CEO
Post by: Bowdon on September 09, 2016, 07:51:44 PM
The good thing about BT / OR is that they are coming out and doing 'something'. Where is Sky? or even the other FTTP companies who seem stuck in new build houses with no roadmap out of it.
Title: Re: Fact sheets from BT CEO
Post by: ejs on September 09, 2016, 08:20:28 PM
Sky are part of the Fix Britain's Internet (http://www.fixbritainsinternet.co.uk) campaign that BT is responding to with these statements.
Title: Re: Fact sheets from BT CEO
Post by: niemand on September 09, 2016, 11:52:16 PM
Ultrafast speeds over 100mbps are on their way, with up to 12 million homes and businesses benefitting by the end of 2020.

Given Virgin Media had 100Mb available to over 12 million homes and businesses 5 years ago I'm not sure this is something to be trumpeting.
Title: Re: Fact sheets from BT CEO
Post by: Weaver on September 10, 2016, 12:23:11 AM
Quite agree with liquorice. The marketing/farketing men can carry on calling dialup fibre because there's some fibre in the chain somewhere. But abusing the English language doesn't change the reality that fibre is only available to a fortunate few. Redefining the language is cheaper than actually getting the necessary work done.

If the authorities had stamped out this false advertising, calling unreliable, unsuitable and highly distance-dependant copper lines "fibre", in the beginning, then we would never be in this situation.
Title: Re: Fact sheets from BT CEO
Post by: niemand on September 10, 2016, 01:04:15 PM
This is one of those that Virgin Media have to take the blame for. They were first to describe hybrid networks as 'fibre optic'.
Title: Re: Fact sheets from BT CEO
Post by: kitz on September 12, 2016, 10:11:47 AM
Yup.   One of my bugbears -  Fibre Optic Broadband which isn't! (http://www.kitz.co.uk/adsl/fibre-optic-broadband.htm#fibre_optic_broadband)  ???