When BT first set out plans to connect Britain with fibre optic broadband, it wanted to get 25 percent of homes on its network online without using old copper cables. That meant fibre optic wires running straight into your home, rather than just to your local cabinet on the street, where BT's aging infrastructure has to make the final push. Alas, the company's plans didn't pan out and it eventually resorted to its cheaper copper cables. The result is slower connections; fibre to your door can get you blazingly-fast speeds of 300 Mbps, while the antiquated method is limited to 80 Mbps (although it could theoretically get a whole lot faster).
The decision caused a couple of savvy customers to complain that BT's use of "fibre optic" was misleading, given most people are still being sold copper-limited internet packages. In its response to the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA), BT admitted that only 0.7 percent of homes on its network (144,000) could access the faster broadband speeds, just a fraction of the figure it previously suggested. However, it argued it wasn't misleading to promote the copper-to-your door method as fibre optic, and the ASA agreed. With such a small true fibre footprint, rivals are looking to build faster networks of their own. Sky, for example, is testing a fibre-to-the-premises (FTTP) network that can deliver up to 1000 Mbps broadband to people's homes. Not only is that faster than BT's offering, but it means bypassing the copper infrastructure that's holding so many homes back from faster speeds.
At some point, BT will have to choose (again) between persevering with copper and splashing the cash needed to install fibre cables in people's homes. It's no small expense, and would be part-funded by the taxpayer, but better infrastructure should mean a future-proofed BT network and the ability for customers to enjoy whatever greater connectivity might bring in the future.
[Image Credit: Barta IV, Flickr]
Filed under: Household, Networking, Internet
Via: PC Pro
Source: ASA
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