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The pilot scheme will give fibre-to-the-cabinet (FTTC) broadband which BT claims will give consumers speeds of "up to 40 Mbps". The pilot will be on offer to up to 15,000 homes and businesses in Muswell Hill, London and Whitchurch, South Glamorgan.

According to BT, the fibre broadband will be available in the summer of 2009 and

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prices will be set by ISPs. BT said it is still in the early stages of the scheme and it is not yet clear which ISPs will be offering the service.

"Services in these areas will be available to all UK communication providers on a wholesale basis," said David Campbell, director of next generation access at BT Openreach. "The sites were chosen in consultation with communications providers and took into account feedback from regional development agencies, devolved authorities and similar organisations."

"It was also necessary to take into account current network topology and our ability to run testing procedures in the chosen areas. We have a good mix of areas, allowing us to test our products in both urban and semi-rural environments," he added.

He said that detailed plans for the next stage of deployment, when the service will be on offer to consumers on a large scale, will be announced in 2010.