BT announces super-fast broadband vision

BTBT looks set to pip competitors to the post with the marketing of super-fast broadband for ordinary consumers throughout the UK.

The telecoms company has announced its plans to develop a £1.5 billion fibre optic network that it claims will service 40 per cent of homes by 2012.

It is hoped new services including the streaming of high definition films will be compatible with the network, which has the potential to deliver broadband speeds of up to 1,000 megabytes per second (Mbs).

Ian Livingstone, BT chief executive, said: “Broadband has boosted the UK economy and is now an essential part of our customers’ lives.

“We now want to make a step-change in broadband provision that will offer faster speeds than ever before. This marks the beginning of a new chapter in Britain’s broadband story.”

Initially however, the company claims that it will only be able to advertise speeds of up to 100Mbs, with delivery expected to peak at 40 to 60Mbs in some areas.

The development of the new network will be subject to the approval of the telecoms regulator Ofcom.

BT already provides super-fast broadband to more than 120,000 businesses.