BT is increasing copper speeds in the UK

CUMBERSOME TELECOM FIRM BT has revealed its intention to increase the availability of fast copper based broadband.

BT said that it will extend the availability of fast copper services starting next year, and claimed that will see it increase coverage to about 90 per cent of the UK population.

Its activities next Spring will see the firm increase the availability of its faster speed services to 2.5 million more premises, it explained, and will take its current potential customer base up to around 22.5 million locations.

Typically BT uses the phrase 'rural areas' and it hopes to gain attention there. In its statements it said that over half of all the exchanges that are due for an upgrade are located in rural areas.

"This is a significant expansion of our roll out plan and is further proof of our commitment to serve rural areas," said Alex Pannell, director of product management at BT Wholesale. "The faster speeds will support the government's aim of enhancing broadband speeds for both town and countryside."

As BT rolls out these faster services it will retire some of its slower offerings. For example, IPstream, which offers speeds up to 8Mbits/s, likely will cease to exist by early 2014. µ