BT says FTTC is adequate for most

A recent statement from BT's group strategy director, Sean Williams, about the need for fibre-to-the-premises (FTTP) broadband, has caused some controversy.

Mr Williams said that not the whole of the UK needed FTTP broadband connections, adding that the forthcoming extra fibre-to-the-cabinet (FTTC) and copper wires currently being used will be adequate to produce the extra performance capacity required.

Speaking at a meeting with the House of Lords Select Committee, Mr Williams said, "Furthermore, there is no business case to support it. Technological developments mean there is no need for it. FTTC is a good solution for medium and long term."

He went on to add that even if higher speeds are produced, the likelihood is that the device being used in the average household "can't cope with the speeds". He added, "Or at the other end, the servers serving communications can't deliver the speed."

Mr Williams asserted that ensuring that FTTC connections are available to all will solve the problems of the broadband bottleneck, adding that any more than this is overkill for many.

"We still invest in them and we still connect households to the copper network," he added.

"[BT] will continue to invest in fibre and copper networks for the foreseeable future. Mass roll-out of super-fast broadband is the work of the next decade, I suppose."

The firm is currently investing in a £2.5 million upgrade of its main telecoms infrastructure with fibre-optic cables. Businesses that want to ensure that they have fast broadband connections regardless of BT’s intentions can opt for leased line deals.

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