BT (NYSE: BT) has announced that new and existing retail and business customers will receive faster broadband speeds, up to 20Mbps, at no extra cost from this summer as it moves to ADSL 2+ technology. That’s a good improvement on the (up to) 8Mbps maximum for BT retail customers, but still some way below Virgin Media’s maximum speed of 50Mbps. This summer 40 percent of homes and businesses, or 10 million people, will get access to the new speeds with that figure growing to 55 percent based on demand by March 2010. Release.
But could it be that BT is making this announcement as VMED steps up its marketing drive for its superfast fibre optic service and as it comes under fire for broadband throttling? BT also adds the caveat that customers have to renew their contracts to get the top speed, so it’s a handy way of guaranteeing userbase for the next 12 months in an ever more competitive market. So it’s not exactly a give-away, it’s just BT’s attempt to make tired-looking ADSL services look better next to Virgin’s shiny fibre optics.
VMED is confident it could serve speeds of up to and beyond 100Mps with its existing technology — but BT points out that its own FTTP trial in Ebbsfleet is already managing 100Mps and today announces a new 40Mps ADSL trial in Whitchurch, South Wales, and Muswell Hill in North London. BT also says it’s also helping the Digital Britain 2Mbps universal broadband cause through giving away “accelerators” to cut out electrical wiring interference.
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