[banner1]LONDON - BT hopes to bring broadband Internet access to every community in the UK by 2005. According to BT's Alison Ritchie, “We are committed to getting 100% coverage to every community, but we need to work in partnership.”
With a program currently underway to upgrade phone exchanges for high-speed service, two million homes and businesses would be able to receive ADSL broadband access - but only if enough people sign up for it. Telephone exchanges are only upgraded for high-speed ADSL (Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Line) service after a so-called “trigger level” of subscription requests is reached.
According to Ben Verwaayen, BT Group chief executive, “Our industry, along with government at all levels, has a huge role to play to accelerate broadband availability, demand and take-up.”
2,300 exchanges will be initially eligible for service, with a goal of 100% coverage as part of BT's long-term broadband strategy. “With our latest understanding of technology and costs and the growing enthusiasm for regional partnerships, means we can take a new approach to broadband investments. We are now in a position to extend trigger levels into the furthest parts of the UK,” added Mr Verwaayen.
A significant number of small exchanges accounting for about 100,000 mostly rural households will not be included at this stage of BT's broadband rollout due to the relatively low demand for service in these areas, many of which are better suited to alternative technologies like wireless or two-way satellite access.
While trigger levels have been criticized for being too high, delaying broadband availability, BT claims that reductions in costs have translated into new, reduced trigger levels. “The issue is about stimulating demand for broadband, and for me it is a local issue more than a national one,” said BT's chief broadband officer, Alison Ritchie, adding “It's about making broadband relevant to business and consumers.”