EE Invites BT Customers to Faster FTTP Broadband Speeds Trial
Selected customers of UK ISP EE and BT’s Fibre-to-the-Premises (FTTP) based home broadband packages are being invited to take part in a new “Faster Broadband Speeds Trial“, which we suspect will involve the use of Openreach’s new 1.2Gbps and 1.8Gbps tiers (both offer 120Mbps upstream).
At present, the fastest consumer service available on both providers is a 900Mbps (average speed) package, which is based off Openreach’s top 1000Mbps (115Mbps upload) tier. But the network access operator has recently extended trials of two faster 1.2Gbps and 1.8Gbps tiers until 31st July 2023 (here) and expanded their availability from the Swansea (Wales) exchange to include Ipswich (Suffolk).
The new “Faster Broadband Speeds Trial” invite from EE doesn’t explicitly mention the faster tiers, but it does state that “the new products we are looking to trial are aimed at people who need the best possible speeds they can get, and are the fastest speeds EE have ever offered over a fibre connection.” Only the new tiers would fit that description.
Customers who end up being approved to join the trial will be able to enjoy the service for free, at least until the trial comes to an end.
Extract from the Trial Requirements
As this is a new product, you’ll need to fit the following criteria to take part:
Be a BT Broadband customer who lives in a Fibre To The Premises (FTTP) area but hasn’t upgraded to a FTTP connection yet, OR:
Be with a different broadband supplier in an FTTP area
Not require any additional services on broadband such as TV. Streaming services will work as normal, but you won’t be able to take a BTTV or other BT/EE add-on product on this new service at present
As well as the above, you’ll need to be willing to provide feedback and complete surveys about your experience to make sure we find any issues or defects that need to be fixed before we launch the products to our wider customer base.
The trial itself is planned to begin in April 2023, although there’s currently no mention of the need for a new Optical Network Terminal (ONT) to be installed in your home. If you haven’t got one already, then the faster FTTP tiers need Openreach’s 2.5Gbps capable Nokia G-010G-T and ADTRAN SDX 611Q devices to be installed inside homes.
Likewise, it’s possible that trial users may get to test EE / BT’s new Wi-Fi 6 capable Smart Hub 3 / Smart Hub Plus routers, although this is not yet confirmed. But it would be hard to get the most out of the faster tiers without them.
An EE spokesperson told ISPreview.co.uk:
“We are constantly looking at new ways to provide the best experience to our customers, and as part of this, we occasionally invite a small number of people to test potential new services. We are unable to share further details on plans for this specific trial at this time, however we can reassure all our customers that we will continue to review new, innovative ways to deliver them the best connectivity, and that they will be amongst the first to know of any new exciting products or services we intend to launch”.
Trials like this tend to only last for a few short months prior to the main product launch, which suggests that a late spring / early summer introduction may be on the cards.
Mark is a professional technology writer, IT consultant and computer engineer from Dorset (England), he also founded ISPreview in 1999 and enjoys analysing the latest telecoms and broadband developments. Find me on X (Twitter), Mastodon, Facebook and Linkedin.
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i got the email and i signed up, waiting for a conifrmation 🙂
Keep us informed 🙂
I also got one. Im currently with Vodafone on FTTP but my understanding is they may also be looking for people who arent with BT or EE.
i will mark dont worry, i will be testing the new router and speeds if i get in 🙂
Wonder if they’ll have automated speed testing or require customers to do some testing?
Folks will very rarely use the full capacity in day to day usage. Games consoles won’t, PCs need both multigig NICs and direct cables.
Many motherboards now come with those but apart from gamers not sure who’s going to have that much use for this with the upload being so low.
Still if the capacity is there doing nothing it is all good.
Probably as them to use the BT Speedtester – which sits on a 10Gbps pipe
It’s unlikely they’re building a “hub” device with 2.5Gbps WAN just for a trial, so presumably the long-delayed Wi-Fi 6 Smart Hub will have something like that on it, as well as enough beans to be able to handle ~2Gbps of speed test traffic.
Anything that pushes the price of 2.5Gbps interfaces down and/or their adoption up is welcome.
So nearly 2Gbps but they can’t offer any faster upload speeds? Some things never change.
Those who require faster uploads are in a minority.
That is the problem.
Those who require 1.2 or 1.8 Gbps download speed aren’t?
EAD exists in ORs portfolio.
That is why.
Would be nice to even have FTTP! Instead putting up with FTTC 17-25mbps when I pay for 30-60Mbps. No exactly rural either
You are lucky to get that speed – the maximum I get (on FTTC) is 11Mbps down and 1.1Mbps up.
And, assuming that BDUK actually do award Cheshire funding next month, FTTP likely won’t arrive before this time next year.
I feel your pain, annoying when these articles come up and a lot of people still can’t get fttp.
I would be happy with just a 100 mb connection so I can watch Netflix while downloading a game on my ps5.
My connection is that slow I can’t do both ☹️
Ah yes. FTTC, BT’s baby once upon a time. Another product that COULD have been radically better and faster had BT actually deployed it correctly instead of half assed. No vectoring, no G.INP initially for years. Spectrum not properly thought about for VDSL profiles………
anonymous
To blame BT for everything isnt really fair. It was Maggie that never let BT install fibre in the 80s as it was anti-competitive. They wanted to do it but she put a stop to it for that reason.
I can literally see the BT Exchange for my area at the end of my garden and in still FTTC. Could even throw a cable over the fence if needed!
Queue all the upload speed moaners …..
@Jason not forgetting the ‘but at least AltNets providing symmetrical’ comments which are bound to be incoming, plus someone who lpwill likely be along soon to tell us that Openreach are rubbish & that they already get similar speeds to those proposed by the EE/BT FTTP trial, simply by using their 5G Smarty SIM in a park in Telford!
And wait for the comments that you dont need 1.8 gbps. 36mb is fast enough, but if you are downloading a game on your xbox just take your dog for a walk for ten hours until it downloads because you are better at time management and dont need 1.8 gbps!
The same people who would look twice at these products are those who will be wanting higher upload speeds.
On this article it’s probably fair game.
VM at least have the explanation that they need to upgrade the network and spend money to offer higher upload speeds. Openreach it would’ve literally been typing a different number into a keyboard for this.
-into a keyboard +on a keyboard. *Sigh*
Not really an upload speed moaner. As I have 1Gbps up already BUT I am annoyed the fact they could be offering 10Gbps both ways here for £99 a month – and I would still be paying £250 a month more for 1!
Of course if that does happen I would swap and dump but still – those paying £60-£100(ish) a month for 1.8 down and 120 up be GRATEFUL! you don’t know how lucky you will be! Until you get congestion of course which I will never suffer – but not sure that’s much of a plus point anymore the way tech is going
Everyone suffers congestion somewhere on the internet even if its not on their own pipe to it.
Probably more so if you happen to be on BT’s GPON and hit congestion 🙂 🙂 🙂
Now ALTNETS, better ones use XGS-PON and we all know that is better in this respect if the recommendations during deployment are adhered to.
Naturally congestion at a web site level or some other big pipe would still be evident on either.
Upload speed moaners are also network engineers like me who think this is just a heritage of the monopoly times and an unjustifiable (with today’s equipment) commercial choice of not offering decent speeds.
And no, there is no technical need, in Italy you have 2.5G/1G on GPON and it works like a charm. The quicker customers do stuff on the PON tree, the earlier you free up that and statistically it doesn’t change much when the majority of traffic is bursty anyways.
Ofcom/ASA rules, sebbb. Can’t advertise ‘up to’ it has to be an average at peak times and people would complain if they weren’t getting the full 2.4/1.2 they think they’re paying for.
People on uncapped services here able to use all the available bandwidth see pretty good results, nearly 100% all the time as usage is pretty light, but people would be up in arms if they shared a split with a heavy user and couldn’t get ‘their’ capacity that they pay for 24/7.
Was a little surprised (ok not hugely but still) when Openreach installed a 1Gbps ONT recently given these products are obviously in the pipeline and the infrastructure it is connected to is brand new and likely to be upgraded to 25G PON shortly. It’s not like a 2.5Gbps capable ONT is some prototype equipment, they’re available off the shelf from Nokia.
I guess the expected takeup of services beyond 1Gbps is low enough that they’ll just replace ONT’s as needed where it is available.
But Openreach have a significant stock of 1Gb ONTs and 2.5Gb ports cost more so makes sense to transition over a decent period of time and most customers would likely prefer the lowest price rather than pay extra for 2.5Gb that they are unable to use.
Yes because unlike the ALTMETS who are agile, BT buy loads of kit with minimum specs and no foresight. They have to have years of trials, extended trials an pilots for anything new, no matter how trivial the new device is.
Meanwhile the better ALTNETS (notice didn’t say ALL) are already deploying XGS-PON and 10gbps capable ONTs…
Anonymous, meet CityFibre. CityFibre, anonymous. CityFibre are an altnet, use GPON, and will continue to install GPON for the foreseeable with XGSPON being saved for customers ordering higher tiers until the stock of GPON ONTs is gone.
Some altnets buy in volume too, and many will provide gigabit port ONTs even on XGSPON. The ones using Adtran will likely supply a 621i not a 622v. The cost difference isn’t insignificant when virtually no-one orders > 1Gb or will want it for a while. I have both here. Must get them to take the 621i back!
Either way a business needs a stock to ensure consistent supply and needs to buy in volume to get a decent price. When you’re doing as many installs as an Openreach, CityFibre or Virgin Media those stocks get higher.
You can’t just let them run low in the hope you’ll have enough customers ordering products requiring the more expensive or next generation version to make it worthwhile and safe.
Maybe they should focus on getting everyone up to 1gbit first.
If you think testing a new faster ONT and speed profile has any impact on the pace of FTTP roll out then you’re wrong.
No, but if the right equipment rather than legacy is deployed to start with, then it means your customers get a better product offering, and takes time away from expensive migrations later. That’s why the BETTER ALTNETS deploy 10gbps capable ONTs and XGS-PON and better than average ISP routers like Eero Pro.
ooooh a whole 120mbps on the upstream whoopee do doo’s.
No thanks. Ill stick to an ALTNET where its symmetric AND cheaper AND better UK support and not using legacy tech such as GPON.
and no CPI + 3.9% price increase every year and no mid contract price rises.
and ALTNET already capable of up to 10gbps as of today.
Netomnia all the way… £29pcm 1gb/1gb…bosh!
I’ll not hold my breath considering the fight to get a mere 36mbps speed, ongoing excuses and an ongoing working, not working internet. Spent a week without internet, 10 different so-called BT engineers and once again a sticking plaster job done at the exchange, got a weak apology, and a measly credit for £16.80.
If they can’t get their acts together and fix what is wrong now, there isn’t much hope for full fibre.
FTTC is way harder than FTTP to troubleshoot. Far less reliable too.
Both fibre and copper Openreach networks are hard to troubleshoot, altnets are easy.
End to end? Tell CityFibre/OFNL customers that.
Complicated part is how the data gets to the Internet once it leaves the OLT. The Openreach section is very simple indeed.
Openreach only work on the bit up to the handover point. Many altnets run it end to end so way more things on their watch that can go wrong.
Has anybody got the Nokia G-010G-T or the Adtran while running it on the slower FTTP tier’s?
Yes have the Nokia with the orange ethernet connection.