BT INFINITY, THE IMPACT: BT Fibre Optic Broadband To Offer Increased Average Speeds Up To 8.5x

Online, February 2, 2010 (Newswire.com) - • Newly-released stats show the true impact of BT fibre optic broadband
• Slowest areas to see speed increases of up to 20x

BT's new BT Infinity product (announced last month) could offer an 8.5x increase on average broadband speeds according to analysis from Top 10 Broadband (www.top10-broadband.co.uk), the UK's most popular broadband comparison site.

In the slowest areas connected to BT's new fibre optic broadband service, the average speed could by boosted by as much as 20x, Top 10 Broadband's analysis also reveals.

Last month BT announced its new BT Infinity product which will achieve speeds up to 40Mb in 30 areas connected to the new BT fibre optic network, including parts of Edinburgh, Glasgow, Greater Manchester, Chelmsford, Basingstoke, Watford and north London.

Using its broadband StreetStats technology (1), Top 10 Broadband has looked at the existing average speeds received by customers of all the major broadband providers in these 30 areas and can exclusively reveal the likely impact BT's fibre optic will have on user's broadband speeds.

It found that average broadband speeds in these areas currently range from an impressive 6.8Mb in Canonbury in north London, to an acceptable 4Mb in Pudsey, to a poor 2Mb in Calder Valley, West Yorkshire.

Canonbury could therefore see broadband speeds up to six times faster than present and Calder Valley could see speeds up to 20 times faster. However, Top 10 Broadband can reveal that the average speed increase across these 30 areas would be 8.5 times if the full 40Mb was achieved for each user.

Contrary to expectations that BT's new Infinity service would launch in similar urban locations to Virgin Media who offer up to 50Mb predominantly in larger towns and cities, BT are bringing super-fast broadband beyond the city limits and into selected satellite towns and villages (2).

Along with bigger cities across the UK, the historic market town Pudsey, near Leeds and the idyllic Welsh village of Taffs Well will be among the first areas to get Infinity.

Alex Buttle, Marketing Director of Top 10 Broadband, said: "At a time when growing economic inequality can make it feel as though we are a nation of technology have and have-nots, the launch of BT's super-fast, fibre-optic broadband in UK satellite towns and villages will genuinely help bridge the digital divide by bringing super fast broadband to those who have previously been excluded."

List of 30 exchanges being connected first to BT's fibre optic network

Location

Current average download speed (Mb / per second)

Basingstoke 3.6
Belfast Balmoral 4.7
Bury, Greater Manchester 3.1
Caerphilly 2.5
Calder Valley 2
Canonbury 6.8
Cardiff empire 5.5
Chelmsford 3.9
Chingford 4.6
Dean, Edinburgh 5.9
Didsbury 6.3
Edmonton 5.1
Enfield 5
Failsworth 4.6
Glasgow Halfway 3.4
Glasgow Western 4.2
Halifax 4.1
Heaton Moor 5.1
Hemel Hempstead 5
Leagrave 5.1
Luton 6
Oldham 4.3
Pudsey 4
Rusholme 5.1
Taffs Well 5.9
Thamesmead 3.6
Tottenham 6.6
Watford 4.6
Whitchurch, Cardiff 6.6
Woolwich 4

NB. Not everyone on these telephone exchanges will be able to get BT Infinity. Customers connected to these exchanges should visit the BT website ( www.BT.com ) to check if their property can receive the service.

-ends-

Notes to Editors:

Top 10 Broadband ( www.top10-broadband.co.uk ) is the UK's most popular dedicated broadband comparison site with over 12 million visitors per year. The award-winning website offers a range of comparison tools and customer reviews, allowing users to make quick and easy broadband buying decisions.

(1) All data sourced via Top 10 Broadband's Street Stats: http://www.top10-broadband.co.uk/speedtest/streetstats/
(2) http://www.openreach.co.uk/orpg/products/nga/downloads/FTTC_%20pot_exchs.pdf

Further links

Top 10 Broadband Homepage: http://www.top10-broadband.co.uk
Top 10 Broadband Speed Test: http://www.top10-broadband.co.uk/speedtest
Top 10 Broadband Press Room: http://www.top10-broadband.co.uk/news/2010/02/bt_infinity_the_impact_bt_fibre_optic_broadband/

Contact:

Alex Buttle
Top 10 Broadband
[email protected]
020 3170 8041

Pete Marcus
Citigate Dewe Rogerson
[email protected]
020 7282 2815