BT brings broadband to more rural areas
- Posted:
- 14:40 30 Apr 2004
- Topics:
- Broadband Services
BT has announced a change in strategy which will bring
the government's target of UK-wide broadband access
closer.
Communities currently left off the broadband map would no longer
have to reach broadband trigger levels, said BT's chief broadband
officer Alison Ritchie. This is where a certain amount of local
interest in broadband has to be expressed before local exchanges
would be converted to deliver broadband services.
She said, "This decision will mean we will automatically convert
more than 1,100 extra exchanges by mid-2005."
These upgrades would mean 99.6% of the UK population would be able
to receive broadband access to the internet. However, this would
still leave nearly 600 exchanges, mainly in rural parts of Scotland
and Wales, without fast internet access.
BT said these areas could be reached using a wireless broadband
network similar to the one it has established in Northern Ireland.
This combines established ADSL technology with wireless products
from Alvarion.
Telecoms regulator Ofcom has moved to boost broadband
competition by ruling that BT rivals will now only be required to
pay BT Wholesale £11 instead of £50, when their customers
choose to change from one BT Wholesale broadband service to
another.
BT Wholesale supplies services to other telecoms providers which
re-brand them to their own customers.
