“I think the debate is still ongoing on what the right number is [for a minimum speed]”. Patterson says it’s now “potentially available” to increase the UK’s coverage target to 96 percent, although we’ll have to wait and see if that materialises.
TalkTalk overtook BT as the most complained about pay TV firm.
What is new is “long reach VDSL”, an engineering solution which promises to significantly raise broadband speeds on very long copper lines.
BT also aims to give 10 million premises access to “ultrafast” broadband (ranging from 300 to 500Mbps) by the end of 2020, with some availability of 1Gbps services.
“We’re also applying advanced software to the planning for fibre broadband deployments and so we are increasing the volume of FTTP in the United Kingdom “.
BT has pledged to ensure every home in the United Kingdom has access to a minimum standard of internet access and to accelerate its rollout of faster fibre connections in a bid to head off criticism over its dominance of the United Kingdom broadband market.
G.Fast works in two ways.
“In an increasingly competitive world, this further major investment will be another vital boost for our region”.
“We believe fibre broadband should be extended further should the current funding model be continued”.
At the same time, the company has made a commitment that it will deliver a new universal standard for broadband under which every property receives a speed of between 5Mb/s and 10 Mb/s, making it possible to watch video services such as You Tube in high definition. This should mean speeds of at least 24Mbps.
A “View My Engineer” smartphone app, which goes live in a few weeks, will allow customers to track exactly what is happening with their broadband installation.
Currently, Openreach does not deal directly with the consumer, who has to take any issues to their broadband provider, but Mr Garner today said he is open to the company dealing directly with end-customers, subject to consulting Ofcom and telecom providers. “We will be consulting on this”.
The deadline for responses to Ofcom’s consultation on the matter is 8 October, and Harding told City A.M. yesterday that this was most likely the reason behind yesterday’s BT announcement: “The last thing BT wants is for Openreach to be spun off – it’s a hugely profitable part of the group”. Its latest pledges will address some of the shortcomings raised by its rivals, notably investment and service quality. Competitors that rely on Openreach to offer their own service have complained that BT is slow to fix faults and that its control over the market has resulted in poor network performance.