Broadband News

BT Broadband has announced plans to upgrade the connection speeds of its existing customers - as long as they sign up for another twelve months. The firm's using ADSL2+ technology that should enable it to more than double the (potential) speed of its network without digging up any roads.

"Within weeks" existing BT customers - even those using its cheapest Option 1 service - will be able to contact the telecommunications giant and request an upgrade to up to 20Mbit/s; the current fastest speed it offers is a potential 8Mbit/s. "There really are no catches," a BT spokesman said. "All we ask is that you sign up to a new contract, which doesn't seem a big ask." However, if not exactly a catch, there is at least one caveat: initially only forty per cent of its customer base will be able to enjoy the faster speeds; by March 2010 that number will have risen to fifty-five per cent.

Despite connection speeds are going up, the current download limits are remaining in place. While some commentators are getting excited that DVD quality films could now take less than hour to download instead of the usual three, it's worth pointing out that customers on the cheapest package certainly won't be able to get their hands on that many movies each month and could find their 10GB allowance maxed out in record time. On top of that, BT's current "traffic-shaping" policies aren't changing either: sorry Mr. Beeb, iPlayer will keep being "throttled" just as much as it is now.

Because BT Broadband's network upgrades will take place at exchanges (area-wide Internet hubs), they won't be laying any new cables. That means its broadband customers won't escape the traditional problem of their Internet speed degrading the further away they are from the exchange due to the inbuilt resistivity of copper wire. So while customers may not see disruption to their service because of the upgrades, many in the affected areas will never see speeds approaching 20Mbit/s. (BT had originally hoped for up to 24Mbit/S connectivity but "only a tiny number of customers" experienced that during testing.)

Still, surely BT's existing 4.8 million customers have reason to be excited about the news? "High-speed broadband provides a faster and more reliable service that will transform the way we live, work, learn and play," says BT CEO Gavin Patterson. "We are already the UK's largest retailer of broadband and today's announcement shows that we offer terrific value for money. Unlike other providers, BT is upgrading customers to 20Mbit/s for free," he adds. But of course, while the move will effectively undercut rival services such as Virgin Media in terms of the price in the short term, it's difficult to gauge whether it'll still be good value in twelve months.

While keeping the copper lines may make it seem like a poor man's "super fast" broadband, BT Broadband's decision to roll it out ADSL2+ to exchanges far and wide should raise the bar for connection speeds where broadband is already available. And it's not resting on its laurels: it's going to start trialling fibre optic cable to test 40Mbit/s speeds this summer in isolated parts of London and South Glamorgan.

[ El Reg | BBC ]