BT to launch 110Mbits/sec connections by March

 

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By Nicole Kobie

Posted on 19 Oct 2010 at 12:10

BT's Openreach will be offering 110Mbits/sec connections from March, the telecoms giant has revealed.

Openreach is BT's wholesale arm, so the connections will be sold onto other ISPs to offer to customers. The Fibre to the Premises (FTTP) product will offer a peak rate of 110Mbits/sec, although a BT spokesman said customers would actually see about 100Mbits/sec and uploads of 15Mbits/sec.

"Communications providers advertising 100Mbits/sec, that's exactly what consumers are going to get," the spokesman promised. "You're going to get 100Mbits/sec, it's not an 'up to' service."

However, BT isn't guaranteeing the top speed round-the-clock. The FTTP services comes with a 20Mbits/sec "prioritised rate downstream bandwidth capability", which is essentially a guaranteed minimum rate. "If the network is flooded, you get a prioritised 20Mbits/sec per user," the spokesman said.

The connections will be sold to ISPs for £258.48 annually, or £21.54 a month. If bought with a voice service, it will cost £157.80 annually or £13.15 a month.

ISPs reselling the connections will also add their own margin on top of BT's wholesale price, and there will be a £75 installation charge.

The system is currently being trialled at Bradwell Abbey in Milton Keynes and Highams Park in North London, and will be rolled out to other sites from March.