BT Openreach, which is responsible for ensuring that all rival operators have equality of access to BT's local network (e.g. LLU - local loop unbundling), has issued a new Next Generation Access (NGA) briefing containing early indicative price ranges for their 'up to' 100Mbps Fibre to the Premises ( FTTP ) product pilot at Highams Park, London.

The brownfield pilot , as first reported on Thinkbroadband , will cover up to 40,000 homes and is set to take place in 2010 (actual dates to be confirmed). BT states that the price range for its FTTP (GEA-FTTP) product will be £175 to £255 per year, although this is merely for the line rental; products with greater than 10Mbps upload speeds are expected to be more expensive.


£175 works out as £14.58 per month, which will only reflect the service rental and is somewhat more expensive than existing ADSL / ADSL2+ lines. Value Added Tax, data allowances, ISP profit margins, value added services and other factors must still be bolted on top.

It is not uncommon for the final consumer price to be almost double that of the rental. The slower and more widely available FTTC products will be a bit cheaper, although final pricing for all these products remains a long way off. It's worth comparing this to BT's June 2008 Ebbsfleet FTTP (greenfield) prices.


FTTP is essentially the same as Fibre to the Home ( FTTH ) technology and, as the name suggests, will take a fibre optic cable directly from BT right into your home for the fastest possible speeds. For the most part FTTP has been targeted towards new build (greenfield) sites.

However BT's Highams Park development is different because it already has copper infrastructure (brownfield) and FTTP technology will thus be used as a sort of replacement. It is necessary for BT to trial this method but, due to the high costs involved, most consumers will received FTTC .

FTTC, unlike FTTP/FTTH, is a hybrid method of delivery where the fibre optic cable only replaces the copper between BT's exchange and your local street cabinet. The final copper wire run to your home remains, with VDSL2 filling the "last mile" copper for speeds of up to 40 to 60Mbps.