BT begins broadband-ometer

 

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Posted on 1 Jul 2002 at 17:15

Get voting! BT starts its scheme to register demand for broadband in areas where the local exchange has yet to be enabled.

Back in mid-June we reported on BT's promise to better register demand for ADSL-based broadband. Well, the scheme has gone live as of today - 1 July. Effectively, consumer 'votes' could now determine the rollout of broadband across the UK.

For areas where ADSL support is missing, the BT Website 'availability checker' has been extended. It now shows - on the basis of a particular phone number - if a trigger level has been set for the relevant exchange and also the level of demand currently registered.

The exact level of demand required before BT will commit to upgrading will depend on the particular exchange involved, but 338 exchanges are covered by the scheme. Threshold levels range from 200 to 500 user registrations and feedback is given in the form of a barometer.

If you visit the broadband section of BT's site and select the 'check broadband availability levels' option, you will see the scheme in action. Once you have entered a telephone number you will be presented with feedback on demand levels.

The way the system works is that you are then prompted to register you interest with your ISP. The ISPs, in turn, will supply BT Wholesale with information on registered demand. When this reaches the specified point for a particular exchange, the ISPs will be given 6 weeks to convert consumer interested into 'firm demand' that will lead BT to enable the exchange.

'For every one of these exchanges we have carried out a detailed review of the cost involved in providing ADSL and the thresholds set reflect those costs,' asserts BT Wholesale CEO Paul Reynolds. 'We're responding to those groups who have drummed up interest in broadband through petitions and newsgroups. We listened and now we encourage people to contact a service provider and formally register their interest.'

Back in April, BT promised to review the status of 500 exchanges, but the threshold levels for the remaining 162 exchanges have yet to be set. BT is promising to provide levels for these, plus another 400 exchanges, before September.

BT's big target is to provide one million broadband connections by the summer of 2003. The figures achieved so far are 270,000 ADSL customers and 1,115 enabled exchanges. The telco claims that these exchanges serves 66 per cent of Britain's households and that the remaining exchanges in the review will extend this to 80 per cent of households.

At the announcement of the scheme, BT's boss, Ben Verwaayen, promised: 'We are pushing out broadband wherever we can. This scheme is hugely important in testing demand and making sure we get broadband out there without delay. Everyone who wants to get the benefits of broadband should register. Every vote counts.'

All of which rather brings to mind the words of Al Capone: 'Vote early and vote often'.