| Britain's attempt to remain at the top of the global | | | | The 100-MB top speed available over the new fibre |
| broadband market with plans to install a network that | | | | network is more than 20 times faster than the current |
| offers speeds 20 times faster than the average UK | | | | average UK residential broadband connection, which |
| household connection. BT hopes its deployment of the | | | | Ofcom estimated last year at 4.6 MB. |
| UK's fastest ever residential network, at the | | | | The top speed available in Ebbsfleet also ranks |
| development of 10,000 new homes, will be a crucial | | | | alongside speeds already on offer in Japan, Korea and |
| test bed as the government, regulator Ofcom and | | | | the US and will keep Britain in competition with France |
| industry come to decide how to upgrade the country's | | | | and Germany where large-scale fibre networks are to |
| broadband network. | | | | be built over the coming four years. |
| From August, BT's Openreach unit will start installing | | | | This project is just the start of Britain's journey into the |
| super fast fibre connections rather than traditional | | | | next phase of broadband. Last year Ofcom launched |
| copper phone lines at the Ebbsfleet site in Kent. It will | | | | a consultation into the regulation of next generation |
| offer the lines to BT Retail and rival ISPs and media | | | | access networks. |
| companies such as Carphone Warehouse's TalkTalk | | | | Replacing copper phone lines with fibre will cost |
| and BSkyB, on a wholesale basis, enabling these | | | | upwards of £10bn and many in the industry |
| companies to provide a host of bandwidth-hungry | | | | expect the country's next generation broadband |
| services such as high definition TV and film downloads. | | | | network to actually be a patchwork of fibre, |
| BT will provide the basic infrastructure and service | | | | high-speed copper lines and wireless access in more |
| providers will have the opportunity to build their own | | | | rural areas. |
| services on the back of it. | | | | BT hopes to be able to start installing fibre connections |
| The move is welcomed by business leaders who last | | | | at all new major residential developments in the UK |
| year warned that the UK risks being left behind in the | | | | from this year and is in discussions with Ofcom as to |
| broadband race by countries such as the US, Japan, | | | | what regulation is needed. It is reckoned that it is no |
| Korea, France and Germany where new fibre | | | | more expensive to deliver fibre based infrastructure |
| networks are already being rolled out. | | | | than it is to put copper lines in the ground. |