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BT reveals ambitious broadband plans for London

London’s broadband network is set for a major upgrade ahead of the London 2012 Olympics, with BT confirming plans for extensive deployment of super-fast broadband across the city. Under the plan, 87% of London’s households and small businesses will be under a net a fibre-enabled broadband exchange by the spring of 2011.

Today, more than 90% of Greater London is hooked up to copper broadband networks, which, in conjunction with upgraded telephone exchanges, allows speeds of up 20Mbps. However, once BT’s next-gen broadband network is rolled out, customers will enjoy speeds of up to 100 Mbps.

The planned Fibre-to-the-Premises (FTTP) broadband connections will be able to deliver speeds of up to 100Mbps, while the Fibre-to-the-Cabinet (FTTC) will offer up to 40Mbps. Although BT is yet to decide which areas will receive FTTC, and which will get the faster FTTP, it is expected that around a quarter of all homes in London on the fibre optic network shall receive the FTTP connections.

The planned deployment of next-gen super-fast broadband will involve further upgrading work for 114 exchanges across the capital, which serves more than 2 million homes and businesses.

"Speed is the essence of so many Olympic sports and as the Games return to London for a third time, it's vital that we should be able to access and enjoy them at record speed”, said Boris Johnson, Mayor of London, speaking on BT’s initiative.

“We are the home of so many technological innovations. The illustrious progenitor of the internet, Tim Berners-Lee was born in this great city and it would be the ultimate tribute to him if London had the best digital games ever, not to mention the lifetime legacy of stronger internet infrastructure", continued the Mayor.

BT’s chief executive Ian Livingston said that BT’s new infrastructure will allow audiences to enjoy the Olympic Games in HD, and engage with the Games via a wide range of interactive services. In the long term, the new network will be “a lasting legacy”, enabling Londoners to proper and thrive well into the future.

In a recent announcement, BT revealed plans of investing a further £1 billion in addition to the £1.5 billion it had already committed to spend on improving fibre broadband access to around two-thirds of UK homes by 2015.

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