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Labour party joins calls for BT and Openreach breakup
UK telecoms regulator Ofcom is currently reviewing whether BT and Openreach, a subsidiary which manages most of the UK's broadband infrastructure, should be left alone or separated entirely. Sky and TalkTalk have already expressed their views -- unsurprisingly, they want the pair split up -- and now they've got another supporter in the Labour party. Chris Bryant, the shadow culture secretary, says Openreach and the government are delivering broadband "too slow, too late." In the Telegraph, he argues that Ofcom should work on the basis that Openreach needs to be "split from the rest of BT, unless their review produces conclusive evidence to the contrary." It's not an unwavering stance, but it's clear the Labour party favours reform. BT will need to do more interviews like the one below if it's to prove the current arrangement is in the public interest.
BT kicks off 330Mbps 'FTTP on Demand' trials, reveals pilot locations
Not everyone is apparently in love with British operator BT's green boxes. Still, that isn't stopping the company from serving up its high-fiber diet to those who want to have speedy Internet connections. For its latest project, BT's Openreach division has started offering an "FTTP on Demand" program that provides fiber-to-the-premises at 330Mbps speeds to folks or businesses who order the service. The project will be done in phases at eight locations, starting with High Wycombe, Bristol South and St Agnes, Cornwall in July. Next up is Edinburgh's Waverley exchange in September followed by Watford, Cardiff, Basingstoke and Manchester Central in 2013. Communications providers can decide to cover installation costs by absorbing a one-off charge, having higher monthly fees or passing the whole thing to the consumer. Want to gobble up more info about BT's latest fiber-filled broadband service? Then check out the good, old PR after the break.
BT Openreach launching 300Mbps broadband in the UK - high in fibre, low in fat
You've got broadband, right? Are you sure you do? Well, it turns out that the US might well be slipping further down the international 'what speed can you get' tables as UK telecom giant BT Openreach has just fessed up that it will be rolling out a 300Mbps wholesale network as soon as spring 2012. As the network is FTTP, there shouldn't be any more of the old 'up to' claims that have plagued the UK market until now. Also, since it's wholesale, we've got our fingers crossed there won't be any nasty price hiking either, so no need for other providers to start bumping their gums about how unfair it is. So it might not be a gigabit network, but with the UK joining the broad-band-super-speed-party, the US needs to up it's gross point average of 5.3Mbps soon, or risk being left at the children's table. If you're prepared to pine mournfully for what your UK friends have in store, hit the PR past the break.
