BT releases fibre broadband roll-out plans for London

  • June 15, 2010

BT’s latest fibre rollout plan for London aims to deliver super-fast broadband to most homes and small businesses by Spring 2011.

Under the plans revealed yesterday, the provider will upgrade 114 exchanges in Greater London to increase its fibre broadband coverage from 3% to 87% within a year.

More than 90 per cent of Londoners can now access to BT’s 20Mbps (ADSL 2+) broadband service as nearly all exchanges in London are already upgraded to deliver these faster speeds, the provider has claimed.

Fibre broadband will offer higher speeds of up to 100Mbps and will allow the users to watch videos and online TV channels in high definition and help the businesses to use HD videoconferencing or ‘cloud computing’ technology, BT said.

“London is already one of the best connected cities in the world and our investment plan will ensure that it stays ahead of the pack. Our investment will see Londoners have access to both fibre and advanced copper broadband services well in advance of the London Olympics.” Ian Livingston, chief executive, BT Group said.

BT’s fibre rollout for the city will connect more than 2 million homes and businesses with three-fourths of the connections to be laid over its 40Mbps Fibre to the Cabinet (FTTC) network. 100Mbps Fibre to the Home (FTTH) broadband service will be available to a quarter of the homes in the city.

The Mayor of London, Boris Johnson, said that BT’s investment plans would bring ‘stronger internet infrastructure’ to the city while allowing users to access and enjoy Olympic sports at ‘record speeds’.

The £2.5 billion investment from BT would help two-thirds of UK homes access fibre broadband by 2015. The internet provider has already launched its 40Mbps, fibre to the cabinet (FTTC) service in many areas including Muswell Hill, Canonbury, Chingford, Edmonton, Enfield, Thamesmead and Tottenham.