9th July 2009 - BT Announces FTTC

BT has just announced a £1.5bn fibre rollout programme which is expected to give up to 10 million homes access to fibre optic powered internet by 2012. The plans will allow for delivery of broadband speed of up to 100 Mbps (in some areas), but more importantly, the network will allow BT to stay at the forefront of fast connectivity far beyond current technology into 1Gbps, 10Gbps and further as demand for faster services rises connected directly by fibre to the premises.

BT has put a big caveat around this announcement, saying that the plan is subject to an appropriate regulatory regime and removing current barriers to investment including ensuring that those investing in fibre are able to earn a fair rate of return for their shareholders, the previous sticking point on why BT has not started this fibre rollout earlier.

The deployment has been announced by BT to allow it to compete head to head with Virgin Media who will now have a difficult decision to make in deciding when to upgrade their existing coax-fibre hybrid network. BT have said that the expansion is a significant expansion in fibre and starts the ball rolling on fibre-to-the-home, but initially most premises will be connected via a local street cabinet, similar to the Virgin Media network.

So What is happening?

Well, in terms of the Basingstoke situation, BT has included (with lots of provisions), Basingstoke for its FTTC fiber deployment plans for 96 towns across the UK. FTTC (Fiber To The Curb) is the installation of optical fiber to a junction box (node) in a neighbourhood that serves customers typically within a thousand foot radius. At that point, the optics are converted into electronics for delivery to the premises.

For Basingstoke, in terms of broadband speeds, this is good news. Of course it does mean that A LOT of roads will be dug up to deploy the new cables from the centre (town centre) telephone exchange, to the remote junction boxes around the town.

So that's it - fast Broadband for Basingstoke - Right?

Well, in one word - MAYBE.

See there are major issues with the plan. Whilst its a major (huge) step forward, there are lots of if's and but's....

1) First, there is the big IF. This is in no way, a done deal. There are large amounts of loops and hoops that the regulators have to jump through before BT agrees to start the work.

2) Currently, as per the news page, BT has confirmed that until the planning stage is complete, some areas of Basingstoke (including possibly parts of Chineham) may not be included. So if you live in these populated areas, this will have no impact at all on your broadband speed or connection problems.

3) The timing is that the project for basingstoke is set for completion in the summer (confirmed by another source as August, earliest) 2010. This may slide, depending on part 1 being met.

4) Basingstoke has been promised upgrades to its internet and phone system in the past (3 years ago), only to have the rug pulled away at the last moment due to a combination of budget and timing issues. Until the machines move in to dig up the roads, there is no guarantees.

5) Finally, there are lots of words about regulators "removing current barriers to investment including ensuring that those investing in fibre are able to earn a fair rate of return for their shareholders". what this could mean in real terms is that if as an individual or business you want or need fast broadband, you will have to pay for it.

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