Broadband News
News, views and analysis
Follow-up to the 21st century network article
09 Jun 2004 | 12.09 Europe/London
Following the presentation this morning by BT Wholesale (slides available here), a few more things have become clear.
Two trials are being started this year. The first, as meantioned in the article earlier today, is the PSTN to VoIP trial which will be conducted at 18 exchanges in London and the East. The second trial is being called the "Deep fibre" trial and will involve the laying of fibre to customers homes and the street cabs at three exchanges in the UK. These are as follows:
Improved coverage maps of the two trials can be found here and here.
A rough timeline of the rollout of the 21st century network is shown below (although a more detailed version can be found on slide 23 in the BT presentation).
It is clear that this is a major turning point in the UK telecoms industry. BT face an enourmous engineering challenge now, and as was pointed out in the web-cast this morning, 5 years is not a long time to complete something on this scale. BT are holding meetings with 50 potential equipment suppliers this afternoon as the tendering process begins.
Two trials are being started this year. The first, as meantioned in the article earlier today, is the PSTN to VoIP trial which will be conducted at 18 exchanges in London and the East. The second trial is being called the "Deep fibre" trial and will involve the laying of fibre to customers homes and the street cabs at three exchanges in the UK. These are as follows:
| Exchange | OLO Code | Region | Postcode |
| Kesgrave | EAKSG | East | IP5 1BU |
| Albert Dock | LNADK | London | E16 3AJ |
| Bradwell Abbey | SMBA | South East | MK6 2SY |
Improved coverage maps of the two trials can be found here and here.
A rough timeline of the rollout of the 21st century network is shown below (although a more detailed version can be found on slide 23 in the BT presentation).
| 2004 | PSTN to IP trial Deep fibre trial |
|---|---|
| 2005 | Broadband exceeds 99.6% availability 21CN trials finish |
| 2006 | 21CN rollout (Mass PSTN to IP) commences |
| 2007 | Rollout continues |
| 2008 | Over 50% availability of network migration complete |
| 2009 | Network migration 75% complete "Broadband dialtone" available to most |
It is clear that this is a major turning point in the UK telecoms industry. BT face an enourmous engineering challenge now, and as was pointed out in the web-cast this morning, 5 years is not a long time to complete something on this scale. BT are holding meetings with 50 potential equipment suppliers this afternoon as the tendering process begins.