BT aims to make London broadband world beater

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BT has pledged to provide fibre broadband to 87 per cent of homes and small businesses in London by spring 2011.

The communications giant has claimed that once the fibre roll-out has been completed and BT has expanded its copper broadband services in the capital, London will be one of the best connected cities in the world.

Currently, over 90 per cent of homes and businesses in Greater London can access copper broadband speeds, which reach up to 20Mbps.

BT is hoping to have completed the fibre deployment in time for the 2012 Olympic Games in the UK.

“Speed is the essence of so many Olympic sports and as the Games return to London for a third time, it's vital that we should be able to access and enjoy them at record speeds,” said Mayor of London Boris Johnson, in a statement.

“The infrastructure that we are putting in place will allow people to watch the event in high definition and engage with the Games using a range of exciting, interactive services,” added BT chief executive Ian Livingston.

“More importantly, the new broadband network will be a lasting legacy, enabling those living and work in London to prosper and the capital’s economy to thrive well into the future,” he said in a statement.

BT recently announced it is planning to invest an extra £1 billion on top of the £1.5 billion it had previously announced to take fibre broadband to approximately two-thirds of UK homes by 2015.

BT’s Fibre-to-the-Premises (FTTP) broadband can deliver speeds of up to 100Mbps, while its Fibre-to-the-Cabinet (FTTC) offers up to 40Mbps.

A BT spokesperson told IT PRO that the company is yet to decide which areas will receive FTTP and which will get FTTC. The firm expects that around a quarter of all homes in London connected to fibre will get the quicker FTTP service.

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