From
http://www.btplc.co.uk/Mediacentre/A...003/nr0345.htm
Regards
Sunil
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Sets triggers for 2,300 more exchanges
Call for public sector involvement to help speed exchange upgrades
BT today declared that 100 per cent broadband coverage of every UK community
is achievable by 2005 if industry and government pull together. This would
put the UK in a position to lead the world.
BT currently makes mass market broadband available to more than 80 per cent
of households -" more houses than are connected to mains gas" and the
company is set to upgrade exchanges serving 90 per cent during next year.
That achievement already puts the UK at the leading edge of G7 economies.
Today BT announced that it was extending its demand registration scheme for
ADSL broadband by setting triggers for a further 2,300 exchanges, serving
two million homes and businesses. The scheme drives BT's roll out programme
by matching supply to demand: BT sets trigger levels for communities to aim
for and upgrades the exchange when registrations for demand hit the trigger.
Today's development means 32 exchanges will be upgraded immediately.
Ben Verwaayen, BT Group chief executive, said: "BT's registration scheme has
been a world-leading success in focusing new investment where there is
demand. We have clear momentum and this, together with our latest
understanding of technology and costs and the growing enthusiasm for
regional partnerships, means we can take a new approach to broadband
investment. We are now in a position to extend trigger levels into the
furthest parts of the UK.
"When all these exchanges are enabled more than 991 per cent of UK homes and
businesses would be connected to broadband exchanges.
"There's no doubt however that many of these trigger levels are very
challenging to hit. In some areas, market stimulation alone will not be
sufficient to deliver broadband. We are critically dependent on public
partnerships to stimulate demand and to intervene with support to get the
exchanges enabled early and even to help reduce the triggers. This will be
essential to deliver the benefits of broadband to every community.
"We are enormously encouraged by initiatives already under way to achieve
100 per cent availability at a local, regional or country level."
Today's announcement still leaves 600 of the very smallest exchanges without
a trigger level, each serving fewer than 300 customers. Ten of these serve
fewer than ten customers each. These areas, serving around 100,000
households, will also require different partnership investment approaches to
receive broadband. There is then the issue of how to address the small
percentage of people who live in already enabled areas but who are currently
unable to get DSL broadband.
BT is currently trialling encouraging new wireless solutions and is working
to extend the physical reach of DSL from enabled exchanges.
Ben Verwaayen said: "One hundred per cent broadband availability must be the
goal because of business demand for ICT, the imperative to share knowledge
and information quickly and the need to create a genuine knowledge economy.
"The important message is that we ask ourselves 'How can we do this?' and
not 'Why should we do this?'. Setting out this clear and achievable goal
for the industry will energise the market to the benefit of everyone. Our
industry, along with government at all levels, has a huge role to play to
accelerate broadband availability, demand and take-up. Working together we
can roll out broadband to 100% of communities by 2005.
"This would put the UK at the head of the pack with all that means for our
economic success.
"Our announcement today creates great opportunities to extend the regional
and local partnership models already demonstrated to such effect in
Cornwall, Caerphilly and in our ground breaking approach with THUS and
Highlands and Islands Enterprise. Government plans to aggregate public
sector demand in rural areas and as a major purchaser of broadband for
schools, hospitals and all public services, will play a key role.
"Setting triggers does not by itself deliver broadband, and we should all be
impatient to speed the process up. Partnerships will do this and ensure
that the UK leads the world's large economies in becoming 100%
broadband-enabled with rapid take-up of broadband by citizens and business."
Note to editors: Demand registration triggers for the 2,300 exchanges have
been set by estimating the total cost of rollout to these exchanges and
applying a weighted average cost linked to the number of lines connected to
the individual exchange to calculate the trigger levels. Triggers will range
from 100 to 500. The new approach also acknowledges changes in the cost of
equipment supply and has enabled triggers for these exchanges to be lower
than would previously have been the case.
1Average penetration of broadband on an enabled exchange is approximately
96%.
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