BT plans 100Mbps UK broadband service by 2012, Gigabit speeds possible

British Telecom just announced its new £1.5 billion fiber fibre-based, broadband plan for the UK. By 2012, BT hopes to have "as many as 10 million homes" (about 40% of the UK) wired for service with speeds up to 100Mbps -- potentially capable of exceeding 1,000Mbps (1Gbps) at some unspecified point in the future. BT plans to deliver 100Mbps direct to new homes or 40Mbps (and possibly 60Mbps as they test new technology) to homes with a copper link to the fiber cabinet. For the plan to be implemented, BT says that a "supportive and enduring regulatory environment" is required with the removal of current barriers to fiber investment identified as a good place to start. In other words, 2012 might easily become 2020 (without the clarity) if an agreement with regulators and rivals can't be reached.

[Via Guardian, Thanks L.Rawlins]

[Neil @ Jul 15th 2008 5:05AM]

No doubt it will be the same 40% of homes which currently have access to ADSL2+ and the same 40% which always get everything first.

There is a huge broadband divide in the UK at the moment and the Government should be doing something to even things out, but they aren't.

[J. Baker @ Jul 15th 2008 5:34AM]

So true. I'm still on 1mbps because I'm so far from my exchange or the lines are bad.

1 mile down the road, friends have cable at 20mbps on Virgin Media.

[Cal @ Jul 15th 2008 5:48AM]

Don't worry, if you have Virgin you're very lucky to get anywhere near those speeds... Yay unreliability, terrible customer service and traffic shaping..

[soul7963 @ Jul 15th 2008 6:07AM]

Never though living close to an exchange would have any benifits! I just signed up with O2 and get 20mbps :)

[Neil @ Jul 15th 2008 6:13AM]

Soul that's exactly my point. O2 have their equipment where you live and likely other providers do too. There are thousands of areas across the UK which have nothing but the bare BT stuff, meaning we get at an absolute maximum 8mbps, even if we live right next door to the exchange.

[Cameron @ Jul 15th 2008 8:47PM]

Down here in Jersey, Channel Islands, the top ADSL speed we can get is 2 Mb/s for £30/mo including line rental. What's more, apparently the network is fairly close to maximum capacity. :(

Even though all of us live close to an exchange and we have a very dense population. Everyone I've spoken to has a very high ADSL line quality yet still they aren't pushing anything faster.

[E71 @ Jul 15th 2008 6:24AM]

Don't give in to their strange spellings, Thomas!

[GenBanks @ Jul 15th 2008 6:41AM]

*to this tune: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zk69e1Vcmvg*

Stand up, all victims of oppression, for the tyrants fear your might... don't cling so hard to your sub 2meg connections, for you have nothing if you have no ADSL2+! Let speedist ignorance be ended, for respect makes the broadband divide fall! Broadband is merely privilege extended unless enjoyed by one and all!
So come brothers and sisters, while the struggle carries on, the Interntionale, unites the world in song! So comrades come rally, for this is the time and place! The international ideal, unites the human race.

Sorry, I couldn't resist, the 'broadband divide' sounds so dramatic that it seemed appropriate to have a song :D

[Robotochan @ Jul 15th 2008 7:42AM]

That's exactly my thoughts, I get 3Mbit yet the town and village next to mine have O2/BE, Sky, Orange etc. And I have... ADSL2... Even with ADSL2+ I will get a massive 30Kbit/s more than now. I wait for WiMax to knock BT off it's throne

[K Nang @ Jul 15th 2008 5:06AM]

is it just me that thinks the words "copper link to the fiber cabinet" sound really filthy?

blatantly

[Spork @ Jul 15th 2008 5:06AM]

So now Big Brother can download your HDD in seconds?

[nh @ Jul 15th 2008 8:04AM]

Well that's marginally preferable to downloading Big Brother to your hard drive in seconds.

[doink @ Jul 15th 2008 5:07AM]

Great. I'm with BT. It will be advertised as 100mb but in reality it will be more like 5mb.

[Rich @ Jul 15th 2008 6:22AM]

Nah, they'll just give you a 3GB cap each month.

[Arran @ Jul 15th 2008 5:08AM]

Hopefully they won't reduce people's speeds when more people are online like they do now. People that aren't in cities will still probably get < 2 mbps =(

[maty @ Jul 15th 2008 5:22AM]

I wont change from Virgin. 50Mb/s coming this year/next year, fiber optic, and cable TV to go with it all and on-demand, HD boradcasts included.

Besides, BT is notorious for not delivering its advertised speeds, by a huge margin.

[404 @ Jul 15th 2008 5:50AM]

Virgin are good, but they aren't perfect. I'm supposedly on 20Mb but it usually sits around the 14 mark.

Throw in a couple of billing problems and a few days of unexplained downtime and I'd maybe consider a switch depending on the circumstances.

I was told by a Virgin rep the 50Mb should be here by the end of this year, but they didn't mention how long it would take to roll out across the nation. Could be interesting (and pricey!) though.

If BT get this working though, it could change a lot of things in the market. If we're lucky it'll put pressure on other ISPs to stop giving users such a raw deal. ( Yes, I'm looking at you, "Unlimited as long as you don't download more than a ridiculously small amount in one hour fair use policy companies!)

[Olivier @ Jul 15th 2008 5:56AM]

You must be ironic saying that BT delivers on speed (or for anything else either)?
I have BT Total Broadband 8Mb/s (their highest speed despite most of the competition having ADSL2+ with advertised 16-24Mb/s) and it is *rubbish*
The connection itself maxes out at 4 Mb/s despite having the line synchronized at 7.2Mb/s.
Depending on how busy the network is I can get as low as 1 Mb/s.

I was with Be Internet before and I had a 12 Mb/s *constant* connection.

BT just came out of a week long system downtime where accross the country their customer service systems where completely ddown (I think they call it Oneview).

Unformatunetely BT has a monopole on landlines and you can't go without them for internet if cable is not available (as you need basic phone line just to get DSL service, either with BT or not).

BT is rubbish and I hope they go bankrupt. Crash and burn baby

[404 @ Jul 15th 2008 6:09AM]

Was that aimed at me Olivier?

I did say *If* BT get this working. They're a British organization which means they pretty much have no chance of getting it on time, on budget or as advertised, but I can hope. No real skin off my nose if they don't.

[GenBanks @ Jul 15th 2008 6:14AM]

Why did you leave Be? I would kill to live close enough to my exchange for Be broadband :(

[Olivier @ Jul 15th 2008 6:25AM]

The comment was for maty really, not 404

I left Be as I had to move house and open a new line in a hurry at my new place. The expected connection time was 3 weeks+ with Be while BT *advertised* 5 days. In reality BT told me they needed an engineer to come and that took 3 weeks alone, + another month of service interruptions from BT.
Unfortunately I am locked with them for 12 months but I can guarantee you that once over it's straght back to Be.

Funny thing is during all this waiting and downtime I used a 3G mobile broadband USB modem from Three and this worked perfectly (alhough their DL cap is too low for me to use on a long term basis)

[Tom Robertson @ Jul 15th 2008 5:52AM]

Sounds all too good to be true. It's blatantly going to be one of those "up to" scams where they say "omg you can get up to 8mb broadband, buy now!" you buy it, and get a miserable 2mb. You complain and they go "well we did say UP to 8mb"...

[L.Rawlins @ Jul 15th 2008 6:01AM]

I don't think they can do that anymore Tom. There was quite the furore about the 'upto' marketing practice in the media.

[Chris @ Jul 15th 2008 5:58AM]

I dont see the point at all, all they will do is push out their "headline" 100mbps as a marketing/shareholder gimmick then proceed to hide everything about "throttling" this and "dont actually use it" that in the AUP as Virgin are doing right now.

"We got the UKs fastest broadband network, but don't you dare use it!"

They are completely out of touch with peoples needs for faster broadband and effectively killing the VOD market before it even gets going. How many HD films via something like Apple TV does 10gig a month get you? Cool you can get your film and a bit quick but then you cannot surf the rest of the month...awesome :rolleyes:

[L.Rawlins @ Jul 15th 2008 6:08AM]

The Gadget Show on Five ran a feature on this that aired yesterday. Jon managed to setup, go to the store (20 mins away) and buy 'I Am Legend' on Blu-Ray, get back, watch it and fall asleep whilst Jason waited for the movie to download through Apple TV. Jason was also only able to rent it, not buy it in HD.

So long as you plan in advance I guess four hours for a download isn't so bad but when the service becomes more mainstream and everybody's doing it, the platform for delivery can and will only get worse on the existing backbone.

[Richy @ Jul 15th 2008 9:31AM]

Jesus, was 'Jason' using dial-up? I've got an Apple TV and 8meg (in reality 4) broadband, and I only have to wait a few minutes before watching an HD movie on my Apple TV -- basically long enough to make a cup of (properly brewed) tea.

With the Apple TV, you can start watrching the film before it's all downloaded, you know...

[Godskitchen @ Jul 15th 2008 6:11AM]

I know people with a 100Mb fibre line in the UK (in Ebbsfleet) and they get the full 100Mb down, for something like £65 a month.

All this "Up to" crap is the fault of the infrastructure, but of course they should make it clear that you wont get what the line can take in theory, that theory being you are the only person on the entire internet and the wind blowing in the right direction.

FTTH will get rid of a lot of that crap.

[DarkUltra @ Jul 15th 2008 6:14AM]

How about splitting up the fiber network and service provider? Here in Norway more and more residents are connected to something called "bynett," a fiber connection where the user can choose who to get HD tv, phone and Internet service from. if they don't deliver, just change the service provider. Say goodbye to throttling and network congestion.

Los.bynett.no

[DarkUltra @ Jul 15th 2008 6:20AM]

www.bynett.los.no sorry

[Paris @ Jul 15th 2008 7:30AM]

BT already allows other ISPs to use their copper network. I'm guessing their policy won't change on their new fiber optic network.

[sKooTr @ Jul 15th 2008 8:11AM]

a "supportive and enduring regulatory environment" is code for "we don't want to share our fiber with ANYONE, so we can screw the consumer with our monopoly and make as much money as possible"

Don't forget, in our capitalist society, public corporations are legally OBLIGED to make more and more money for their shareholders, hence the requirement to screw the consumer - Apple is a good example of this with their charge for upgrades to some Ipod Touch users.

[DarkUltra @ Jul 15th 2008 3:19PM]

the difference is, the network provider will not provide any content and be completely neutral. It's like if Microsoft didn't bundle their browser with the OS and you'd be forced to choose a browser along with your computer purchase. Spread the word and create a market :-)

[Jack @ Jul 15th 2008 6:16AM]

I guess it will be "up to" 100mb/s
much like thier current service is "up to" 8mb/s

ill settle with virgins media thanks, customer service may be piss poor but at least I get a decent speed of the line!

[robert i @ Jul 15th 2008 6:22AM]

Now, if you live in a backwater country like Slovenia, you have all of that already in 2008 (100mbps fiber and 1gbps, although the last is still very expensive)

[adrian @ Jul 15th 2008 6:44AM]

The UK could of had all of this already, If they had adopted a system like in Japan and other countries where they run the cables through the sewer network. I heard that in some other parts of the UK this has been done this already. BT need have their control of the phone lines taken away.

[Ethan @ Jul 15th 2008 6:35AM]

Basically, they want to remove barriers to gouging, but where they know they can't make headway they'll say they 'believe in an open service.' I'm sorry, I find myself blaming Thatcher.

[mjgwenham @ Jul 15th 2008 8:14AM]

Not surprised you blame Thatcher, we'd have had this 20 years ago if she hadn't decided against it:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2001/feb/26/internetnews.guardianleaders

[GenBanks @ Jul 15th 2008 6:45AM]

100mbps would be like a dream for me... We're on 2mbps and getting regraded to 16mbps at the moment. And I'm all excited about that.

[Rob Bourne @ Jul 15th 2008 7:25AM]

We'll probably all be dead by the time BT implement this :(

[Ox p01nt @ Jul 15th 2008 7:26AM]

I can get 100Mbit both up and down, at home today but i don't live in the UK! =P

[GenBanks @ Jul 15th 2008 8:16AM]

And you don't even tell us what city you live in? :p

[Dead_Rebel @ Jul 15th 2008 7:45AM]

DIALUP FTW! No seriously, come to the US and live in the boondocks. Dialup is all I got here at work. Measly 3mb DSL at home.

[mr tee @ Jul 15th 2008 8:07AM]

haha, got to love BT and the whole broadband UK network. the whole industry in the uk is a lie. We're looking at 2020 or even 2030. Anyone living a few miles from a major city centre wont get these speeds.

I live 6 miles away from the 2nd biggest city in the UK and the maximum I can get is 2mb!!!! My line is 'soon' to be upgraded, they said that 4 years ago!

Come on government poke your nose in.

[Shan @ Jul 15th 2008 8:16AM]

I'll believe it when I see it! I live 3km from Wimbledon exchange and the best speed I can get from my line is 2MB from my "upto 8MB" package. I find it kinda pathetic in that the last 4 years this is all I have been able to get, when my brother who lives in a 3rd world country gets the same speed as I do (2MB) and the telecoms industry in that country is hardly anywhere near in terms of what BT has in terms of technical know-how, skill and finances. To me it just seems we in the UK are hardly progressing at all. I feel sorry for those who can't even get 2MB.

Of course even when BT do give us these imaginary 100MB lines, our ISPs will be quick to implement their traffic shaping policy which will never give us the speed we want or even expect to have even though we are paying for it. All this on top of the fact that now the BBC wants to start streaming BBC1 live over the net. Yeah .. our ISPs will be thrilled about that!

Internet bandwidth usage is increasing yet ISPs seem keen to throttle us more and more - this is a receipe for disaster!

[j.d.ripper @ Jul 15th 2008 8:19AM]

This already exists in other European countries, such as France :

http://translate.google.com/translate?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.free.fr%2Ffibre-optique%2Findex.html&hl=en&ie=UTF8&sl=fr&tl=en

[Jeffrey @ Jul 15th 2008 8:23AM]

If you read what BT said they only intend to put fibre into 1 million homes, the rest will still be copper last mile, so what's the betting that those 1 million homes are selection but only in London? It would be good if some of the other ISP's clubbed together set up a JV, put fibre through the sewers and then sold bandwidth. It would be good if BT had some real competition, and faced a sharp drop in profits by supplying an outdated network, it might force them to do something. It would also be good if the government mandated that a certain percentage of next gen connections must be to rural areas, to stop people like BT thinking that if they give London + home counties a high speed network, that is job done and they don't need to do anything for the rest of the country.
Also who wants virgin medias traffic shaped, spyware ad injected rubbish? bring back telewest I say.

[neofolklore @ Jul 15th 2008 9:07AM]

and then they block sweden and the pirate bay.

[Tony @ Jul 15th 2008 9:18AM]

No doubt this will be the same "40%" of homes who already have decent broadband access. BT are the worst company I have ever encountered

- It took them so long for broadband to reach my area that I had to pay for ISDN for 2 years.

- My broadband with BT has actually decreased in speed over the 4 or so years I've had it from 2mbps down to around 1mbps on a good day when it will actually connect.

- Their customer service is beyond awful I have wasted countless hours of my life talking to their stupid Indian call center to complete idiots who try to tell me that the reason my internet has not worked for 2 days is because I need to clear my cookies.

- I was forced to give up playing games online two years ago because my ping jumps from the usual sub 50 to 300 constantly, my xbox live account barely gets used when I am home because it's impossible to play under these conditions.

I do not live in a remote area I am within 5 miles of a large city, unfortunately there are no cables laid where I live or I would most definitely switch to Virgin, I was with them for the last 3 years at my university house on their 20mb service and loved it I would consistently download from usenet at 1.6mbps. BT the worst company I have ever dealt with in my life, the only reason they are not bankrupt is because of the monopoly they hold over UK communications.

[stm @ Jul 15th 2008 9:33AM]

we've had this in sweden for quite some years now. $40 / month for full 100mbit.

[chyan @ Jul 15th 2008 9:46AM]

Still broadband speeds in Malaysia is nowhere near above 5mbps.
So This is just gotta be a dream for us there.