Info Image

BT Targets to Connect 10 million Premises with Ultrafast Broadband by 2020

Gavin Patterson, the Chief Executive Officer at BT Group Image Credit: BT

BT Chief Executive Gavin Patterson has recently laid out the Operator's plans to deliver Britain’s digital future inline with the UK's positioning as the G20’s leading digital economy. By the end of 2020, Britain aims to connect every home and business with a new universal minimum broadband speed of 5-10 Megabits per second (Mbps), where its enough for everyone in the UK to enjoy popular internet services like high definition video.

Speaking at BT’s Delivering Britain’s Digital Future conference in London, CEO Gavin Patterson announced the new goals including a universal minimum speed of between 5 and 10 Mbps and to extend fibre broadband and ultrafast connectivity to more premises and improve service.

Patterson said. "For the past five years, the UK has been the largest digital economy in the G20, by percentage of GDP. We think the UK has an even brighter future ahead if we make the right decisions today.We want to forge an ultrafast future for Britain and stand ready to help government deliver the broadband speeds necessary for every property to enjoy modern day internet services, such as high definition TV streaming and cloud computing. To achieve this, we need a collaborative effort across industry and government."

The BT chief executive said the UK would go beyond government’s current 95% target for fibre availability, thanks to “success dividend” clauses in contracts covering rollout co-funded by BT, Whitehall and local councils. He also announced plans to supply fibre broadband for all new housing developments, either through BT’s own efforts or in cooperation with developers.

Patterson went beyond his January statement on ultrafast broadband, to say BT’s new services of 300-500Mbps would reach 10 million homes and smaller businesses by the end of 2020, and the majority of premises within a decade. A 1Gbps service will be provided for those that want even faster speeds. The connections on offer would be a combination of Fibre-to-the-Premises technology, as well as new G.fast technology, which uses existing Fibre-to-the-Cabinet technology.

Author

Ray is a news editor at The Fast Mode, bringing with him more than 10 years of experience in the wireless industry.

For tips and feedback, email Ray at ray.sharma(at)thefastmode.com, or reach him on LinkedIn @raysharma10, Facebook @1RaySharma

PREVIOUS POST

Verizon, AT&T, T-Mobile & Others Form EVOLVE Coalition to Back LTE-U/LAA

NEXT POST

Ericsson, Qualcomm Collaborate to Complete LTE-U Demo