Thinkbroadband has reported that BT Openreach will launch a new product called 'Street Access' on 1st October 2007 next week. Though technically intended for use by businesses, the Ethernet style technology is capable of delivering speeds up to 100Mbps both ways.

It's possible to conceive of the technology being used as either a cheaper alternative to SDSL bandwidth or for delivering the backbone to a fast urban wireless network:


Sounding not unlike Fibre To The Cabinet (FTTC) technology, could this be the first step towards solving the current next-generation broadband debate? Perhaps.

Pricing for a 2.5km 100Mbps link is expected to cost roughly £3,350 per year (£279 per month) and £4,750 to install, making it an attractive alternative to slower SDSL options. Share that bandwidth between just 20 or 30 users and you're soon into the consumer affordable range.

However in this day and age it's not just the bandwidth you have to pay for, there's additional costs and potential technical problems to deal with that can push prices up.