BT fibre rollouts to bring superfast broadband to 6m UK homes by year end
The year 2011 will see fibre based superfast broadband connections in the UK to grow by thirteen times if BT can achieve a big increase in its superfast rollout rate during the year, the analyst firm Point Topic said.
According to its forecast, the high speed broadband internet lines in the UK will increase from 45,000 to 600,000 by the year end.
BT which is currently adding customers to its superfast broadband services at the rate of 4,000 per week will need to double or even quadruple the rate in 2011 to help the UK to reach these figures, the study reveals.
Total customers using Virgin Media’s 50Mbps service are also expected to reach 200,000 by the end of 2011.
More than 6m UK homes will access to BT’s 40Mbps, FTTC (fibre to the cabinet) and 100Mbps FTTP (Fibre to the Premises) broadband networks, the firm predicts.
“There are good reasons for thinking that can be done, our forecast is still very vulnerable to a wide range of potential problems. It could be hit by anything from the weather to a double-dip recession” said Tim Johnson, chief analyst at Point Topic.
“They (BT) have to show both that the demand is there and that they have the technology to supply it. It’s going to be very exciting to see if they manage it.” he added.
BT broadband expects to cover 66% of UK population with its £2.5 billion fibre deployment by 2015.
The study also shows, by the year end, 3% of users across the UK will be on superfast lines to receive average download speeds of around 25Mbps.
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