BT extends 100Mbits/sec fibre rollout
By Stuart Turton
Posted on 9 Oct 2009 at 10:34
BT has announced that more than 2.5 million homes will be on the receiving end of its fibre-to-the-premises (FTTP) technology.
Fibre-to-the-premises is BT's flagship broadband offering, potentially offering burst speeds of up to 100Mbits/sec. The company claims the network could one day be capable of 1Gbits/sec, though it will only consider offering such speeds if it sees commercial demand for such services.
BT initially promised to hook up one million homes to its FTTP network as part of a larger fibre rollout, which will see a further nine million receiving its 40Mbits/sec fibre-to-the-cabinet service. The technology is being trialled in Ebbsfleet and is promised for the forthcoming Olympic Village.
However, BT says it will now lay down fibre in areas already served by copper - though it has yet to confirm which areas will benefit.
It's unclear what has prompted this move. "BT has been making good progress with all aspects of its fibre programme and is commercially ahead of target," the company claims in a statement, adding that the extended rollout will be accomplished within its original £1.5 billion budget.
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What is the point of BT doing this. They have download caps which you would hit in minutes with this speed.
The reason I can see is to widen their on demand Tv services. There is no altruism in BT's action just a search for more profit.
By Ulfarus on 10 Oct 2009 
Am I missing something or are they just doing Virgin's work for them here? Free cable infrastructure anyone?
By aron311 on 11 Oct 2009
I just wish BT were "asked politely" to put FTTC and FTTP in areas not covered by Virgin instead of often doubling up so some premises have two fibre options and many others are left with none for even longer.
By skarlock on 12 Oct 2009
They're competing with Virgin. They are not with us, the customer.
Personally I'd like a 10mbs synchronous (which these connections won't be - why the hell not?) to work from home and cut my day in half, and save me six grand a year in travel costs.
Thanks SWT, You (insert long list of expletives).
By bubbles16 on 12 Oct 2009
Maybe the government could be persuaded to invest in FTTC/FTTP using money designated for lowering carbon emissions. If we had a suitable national network then more employers could let staff work from home which I would imagine could have a significant impact at reducing travel related emissions and also congestion which would further lower emissions from those who are still travelling.
By skarlock on 12 Oct 2009
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