The news from DigiWorld 2006 is that BT consider ADSL2+ to meet ‘foreseeable needs’. Unlike its counterparts in the US and Japan, BT has no plans to deploy FTTH (Fibre To The Home) on a nationwide basis in the UK.
One of the things I’ve been blogging about on a regular basis is when will the UK get a really fast broadband service. I was hoping that really fast broadband would arrive as part of BTs 21CN technology. That doesn’t seem the case now.
I’ve heard people before saying that FTTH in the UK was unlikely due to the costs involved, but surely this means the UK will lag further behind other countries. This is despite delegates at DigiWorld 2006 saying that the cost of rolling out FTTH will continue to decrease, making the business case more attractive.
FTTH is already being adopted in the US. Take for example, Verizon, who last week announced a Fibre-Optic rollout. BellSouth and SBC Communications are expected to make similar announcements soon.
In France, Iliad plan to invest EUR1 billion in FTTH for Paris over the next six years. There is strongth FTTH growth in Japan too, with 5.4 million subscribers at the end of March 2006.
Although these FTTH rollouts look promising, they seem confined to city areas rather than outlying areas. To rollout FTTH at a nationwide level would be a huge effort. Even so, I feel that is the way forward if we are to achieve truly faster broadband speeds. I think there is only so much you can do with the existing broadband infrastructure.
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8 responses so far ↓
1 Kevin Tan // Mar 8, 2008 at 4:29 pm
Copper or coax cables are aging… the maintenance cost will be extremely high and in increasing rate compare to the rate of fiber installation. I believe it is just a matter of time as FTTH is now outspread in Asian country.
2 Dean // Mar 8, 2008 at 6:36 pm
There have been some small scale FTTH trials in the UK recently but I’m not sure if or when there will be a nationwide rollout. As you say, many other countries in Asia and Far East are more advanced with FTTH. The UK risks lagging behind if there is no nationwide investment to overhaul the old copper network.
3 Tony // Jun 29, 2008 at 1:15 pm
Can only hope that BT reconsider their options for FTTH as more and more people use Broadband Their current or even future infrastructure will surely be swamped by demand.
I have certainly noticed a degredation in my current broadband over the existing BT connection. Come on BT do the right thing bring us up to date with the rest of the world. Your certainly happy to take our money but you seem not to want to spend it on us.
4 Jayaprakash // Jul 16, 2008 at 4:46 pm
Currently I am on study on worldwide FTTH deployment as part of my profession. I work for fiber optic cable comapny in Japan. UK is far behind Japan, Korea and some other east asian countries in terms of Fiber to x business. Really communication is going to be the bench mark for deciding the level of social upliftment and economical growth of a country in the future. Western Europe, especially Netherlands, Denmark, Sweden are progressing well in fiber business. UK can not stand behind. UK was once the guide to the world in technology. She can not trail behind.
5 Dean // Jul 16, 2008 at 9:35 pm
BT have announced this week a FTTH roll-out in the UK for 2012. BT are targetting 10 million homes to have the fiber service. We will have to wait and see what areas get this investment. The UK cannot afford to get left behind I agree.
6 James // Jul 31, 2008 at 10:31 pm
I work for BT and its actually nice to see how many potential customers want fibre. I do. My biggest concern is that wireless will come in and wipe it away. I can’t see how wireless will compare with a fixed fibre line. Fibre is the way and will be awesum if its rolled out.
7 Colin // Aug 2, 2008 at 5:28 pm
“The UK risks lagging behind if there is no nationwide investment to overhaul the old copper network.”
If only I had copper wire on my local loop, mine is Aluminium and its rubbish and BT refuse to replace it with copper.
8 While (mills.Read()) » Blog Archive » Wire, Politics, Money (Fibre optic no-show) // Oct 13, 2008 at 9:34 pm
[...] http://technical-itch.co.uk/2006/11/21/bt-rules-out-fibre-optic-roll-out/ [...]
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