Posted: 30th Jun, 2004 By: MarkJ
BT has today detailed their UK broadband rollout plans, which, it's hoped, will bring hi-speed technology to 99.6% of UK households by August 2005. The operator also reported 'promising' initial results from the 10KM extended reach ADSL trial:
The roll out is the latest stage of an ongoing investment by BT that has already seen more than one billion pounds spent on its UK broadband network. It will lead to almost one million more households being connected to broadband exchanges and it will require 5,500 kilometres of new cable to be laid across the country.
BT's investment will ensure the UK remains ahead of its major international competitors. A recent report by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) identified the UK as having plans that will ensure the country has the best DSL broadband availability within the G7 group of countries.
BT's roll out programme will speed up the national deployment of broadband bringing it to more communities in a shorter time than would otherwise have been possible. By adopting a systematic approach, BT has been able to combine a faster roll out of broadband with the most efficient engineering solution. The systematic roll out has also enabled BT to bring forward the enablement of 59 additional exchanges that had hit their triggers before the closure of the registration scheme.
Today's timetable will see broadband delivered to every remaining exchange except for the very smallest which between them account for fewer than 100,000 premises across the UK.
Alison Ritchie added: "BT is not forgetting these small numbers of communities who are still to be told when they will receive broadband. These communities are served by the very smallest exchanges and BT is working hard to find solutions for them. These solutions depend on the support of external partners and so BT will continue to seek to work in partnership with public sector and other organisations. Possible solutions include wireless and satellite broadband as well as BT's Exchange Activate product."
BT also announced that the initial results from trials to extend the reach of broadband beyond its current limit (roughly 6km) were looking very promising. BT is confident it will find a way over the summer to extend the reach of broadband ADSL services to over a million more homes and businesses throughout the UK.
The full timetable can be accessed at http://www.bt.com/broadbandThe timetable itself is regional based, allowing you to click your area on the map (at above listed site) and see a list of the exchanges with pre-defined upgrade dates.