Print

Please login or register.
1 Hour 1 Day 1 Week 1 Month Forever
Login with username, password and session length

[gt94sss2]

New announcement from BT today confirming that it plans to:

- Aim for a new universal minimum broadband speed of 5-10 Megabits per second (Mbps) for every home and business, subject to regulatory support
- Vast majority to get well ahead of minimum speeds - plan to extend fibre broadband coverage beyond government’s 95% of premises target
- From superfast to ultrafast: 10m premises to receive ultrafast broadband with speeds of 300-500Mbps by end of 2020. 1Gbps service also to be provided
- New “View My Engineer” service from Openreach aims to improve customer experience by giving text progress updates and engineer’s mobile phone number

Selected quotes:

Universal Minimum Speed

Patterson committed BT to supporting government in delivering a new universal minimum broadband speed of 5-10Mbps, enough for everyone in the UK to enjoy popular internet services like high definition video.

Patterson emphasised the need for a supportive regulatory and government policy environment to bring about a commercially viable investment. He also cited new technologies developed at BT’s Adastral Park research laboratories, which should help boost slow speeds for many hard-to-reach premises. Industry-leading research there includes tests on promising new technologies such as “wireless to the cabinet” and “long reach VDSL”, to help bring higher speed broadband to hard-to-reach communities.

Patterson also pledged the company would introduce a satellite broadband service for some of the UK’s more remote premises by the end of the year.

Extend fibre broadband beyond UK’s current plans for 95% of premises

Patterson announced BT’s desire to go “further and faster” on fibre broadband.

He made clear BT would “never say no” to providing faster broadband to communities, promising the company would instead explore innovative funding and technical solutions. He said 90 communities were already benefitting from this approach.

The BT chief executive said the UK would go beyond government’s current 95% target for fibre availability, thanks to “success dividend” clauses in contracts covering rollout co-funded by BT, Whitehall and local councils.

The clauses mean BT has to reinvest or return money if take-up exceeds certain levels in areas where public funds have been used. A sum of £130m is already being released and is potentially available to get the UK towards having fibre available at 96% of premises. A greater proportion of premises will have access to fibre broadband than can access mains gas.

He also announced plans to supply fibre broadband for all new housing developments, either through BT’s own efforts or in cooperation with developers.

From Superfast to Ultrafast speeds, reaching 10m premises by end of 2020

Patterson stressed the potential benefit to homes and smaller businesses from ultrafast broadband technology. These services will sit beside “Ethernet” broadband services which already offer ultrafast speeds to larger businesses and organisations which can pay for bespoke dedicated lines.

Patterson went beyond his January statement on ultrafast broadband, to say BT’s new services of 300-500Mbps would reach 10m homes and smaller businesses by the end of 2020, and the majority of premises within a decade. A 1Gbps service will be provided for those that want even faster speeds. The connections on offer would be a combination of Fibre-to-the-Premises technology, as well as new G.fast technology, which uses existing Fibre-to-the-Cabinet technology.

Full press release at http://www.btplc.com/News/#/pressreleases/bt-ceo-delivers-vision-for-britain-s-digital-future-1222020

[guest]

Someone at BT has worked out that this time around the Ofcom review is going to be different & hit the panic button.

Unfortunately its the same old nonsense you get from all monopolists - "don't be nasty to us, we'll do better in future, honest guv".

BT had their chance and have proven time & again that they will not "behave" until someone waves the big stick again. Enough waving the big stick - this time hit them with it and force them to float Openreach off as a totally seperate company.

[AArdvark]

The timing of all these announcements is somewhat opportune. 

[GigabitEthernet]

Empty words, which the tax payer will be forced to pay for.