Smokend Info Blog

There has been remarkable progress in BT’s fibre optic upgrade programme. Recently, a declaration was made by the provider that disclosed 300 locations that are ready to receive a fibre upgrade.

Work will be initiated in the near future, and approximately four million lines will witness changes as a result of exchange upgrades. The locations are in supported and urban areas and a substantial range of the allocated locations are situated in London or the South East.

There are two separate levels of upgrade and the level is decided on the basis of whether the provider is availing the fibre-to-the-cabinet or fibre-to-the-premises lines, as deployed by BT.

The news site, The Register announced that 75 percent of BT’s upgrades will be primarily fibre-to-the-cabinet providing almost 40Mb download speeds. The remaining 30 percent, will offer fibre-to-the-home (FTTC) technology. The FTTC lines provide a quicker downstream of almost 100Mb.

The Register has provided a detailed account of most of the locations that have been chosen for the purpose of upgrade but BT has not yet disclosed information regarding which exchange will benefit from which technology.

BT has ambitious plans to spend £1.5 billion for the purpose of upgrading its networks to ensure a national fibre-optic broadband service. This is calculated to ensure almost 40% or an estimated 10 million UK residences, as well as businesses (see best business broadband) with the opportunity to access fibre-based broadband services.

The telecommunications watchdog, Ofcom, has suggested that BT should ensure that access is provided to its fibre lines even to its competing firms like Sky Broadband as well as TalkTalk.

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