Broadband News

BT Announces 1000+ RFS Dates

We've been waiting for it, but it's finally here!

This morning, BT has announced the ready-for-service dates for over a thousand exchanges around the UK to give users a date when they should be able to place ADSL orders on their exchange. This was following a previous statement by BT that it will be rolling out broadband at each exchange so that 99.6% of UK households will be connected to a broadband enabled exchange by August 2005.

BT says it has now spent over £1bn on its broadband network across the country with thousands of kilometres of new cable to be laid and the plans are to take the UK to the top of the G7 group of countries according to a recent OECD report.

The push to get Britain broadband enabled will also see 59 exchanges that hit their trigger levels before the closure of the pre-registration scheme see the exchanges enabled sooner than would otherwise have been the case.

"Today's news provides clarity for more than a thousand communities across the UK. People have been keen to know when they will have access to broadband and this clarity from BT will allow them to plan ahead with confidence.

Whilst this move will ensure the UK leads the G7 in broadband availability, more has to be done in terms of driving take up. It is particularly important for the UK that businesses adopt and embrace broadband.

BT is working hard to transform the market from narrowband to broadband and to ensure that every part of the UK can benefit from the broadband revolution.

BT is not forgetting these small numbers of communities who are still to be told when they will receive broadband. These communities are served by the very smallest exchanges and BT is working hard to find solutions for them. These solutions depend on the support of external partners and so BT will continue to seek to work in partnership with public sector and other organisations. Possible solutions include wireless and satellite broadband as well as BT's Exchange Activate product."

Alison Ritchie (Chief Broadband Officer), BT

BT also confirmed that its extended reach trials for service on lines up to possibly 10 km from the exchange are "very promising" and that it plans to use this to extend availability to up to a million more users

Exchanges which have had their RFS date brought forward and a full list of the 1046 exchanges with new RFS dates can be found here.

The full timetable of RFS dates can also be accessed on the "Where I live" pages at http://www.bt.com/broadband later today. [seb]
 

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