Welsh first to get next generation BT network

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BT has given detailed plans for the rollout of its twenty-first network (C21), which will form the basis of its voice and data services for the coming years.

The first area to be linked into the network will be Cardiff, with 350,000 customers linked in between November 2006 and Summer 2007. The company will then roll out across the rest of the country in 2008, with the project extended to be "substantially complete" by the end of the decade.

"Rebuilding the core telecommunications infrastructure of the UK is a massive undertaking," said Deb Covey, managing director of BT Wholesale networks.

"Planning the rollout programme has been a complex task with industry consulted at every stage. Work is now well underway to create the new backbone for 21CN - this has to be in place across large parts of the UK before the first customer lines are switched across."

The 21CN network project involves the shift of all BT voice and data services onto a single IP network, bandwidth on which will also be made available wholesale. The company expects to use it to sell 24MBps ADSL 2+ services nationally towards the end of next year, and have 50 per cent of the country covered by the start of 2008.

"Next generation networks will play a fundamental role in how we will all communicate and do business in the future," said Huw Saunders, of Kingston Communications, speaking as Industry co-chair of the Consult21 Steering Board.

"As an industry, we've participated in the development and design of BT's programme to ensure that it takes into account the needs of everyone, regardless of which communications provider they choose to take services from. What happens in Cardiff in a few short months is only the beginning of the journey."

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