This is the future folks
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2008/01/10/bt_ebbsfleet_go/BT will dip its toe in the rapid waters of fibre-to-the-home broadband this year, when it'll run optic cables to 10,000 new homes being built at Ebbsfleet in Kent.
The pilot will offer a maximum 100Mbit/s connection from August, BT's Openreach division said today.
Wholesale prices will run from £100+VAT per year for basic access and up to £530+VAT for speeds rivalling those available across South Korea, which leads the world in broadband provision.
Unlike the current generation of ADSL products that only offer "up to" 8Mbit/s, the residents of Ebbsfleet will be "assured" bitrates. Guaranteed 2Mbit/s upstream with 10Mbit/s downloads will rent at £230+VAT annually.
BT's service plans for the network include multiple HDTV streams
Meanwhile, the rest of the UK is being gradually upgraded to a contended ADSL service offering theoretical maximum downstream speeds of 24Mbit/s over copper wires. Ofcom's current estimate of average speeds is 4.6Mbit/s.
The government only began discussions with ISPs and watchdogs on how to bring the rest of us up to speed in the final months of last year.
The Department for Business, Employment and Regulatory Reform has yet to dream up a policy, but the EU wants subsidies to be made available to tempt national investments in fibre from providers. Ofcom prefers to let market forces dictate when upgrades happen.
For now, Kent seems to have become the testbed for network improvements. Virgin Media is trialling its 50Mbit/s DOCSIS 3 cable service there, too.
Anyone know the fastest way to this new housing developement ?
Whilst I undersatnd upgrading the whole of the UK with fibre would place a tremendous financial strain on the companies undertaking it it clearly is something the consumer will be calling a necessity rather than a luxury in terms of future educational requirements (nationaly and overseas ), increasing business demands and to obtain the high definition video feeds that currently would be impractical to deliver on any massive scale.
Lets hope all goes well and we can all enjoy the benefits of fiber deployment within the next five years
