BT superfast broadband plans announced

BT superfast broadband

After CXO reported a few days ago that BT would use the announcement of its yearly profits to announce an expansion of its superfast broadband, comes that exact announcement. The communications giant BT has announced plans to roll-out its superfast broadband to around two-thirds of UK homes by the year 2015.

Around four million homes are expected to have access to fibre broadband by the end of this year, but the BT hopes that investment of around GBP£2.5 billion will dramatically increase this figure in the next five years.

Previously the communications company had undertaken to invest GBP£1.5 billion in making superfast download speeds available to 40 percent of homes by 2012.

BT's plans were unveiled by chief executive Ian Livingston as he announced group profits of GBP£1 billion for the year to 31 March and set out his objectives for the telecoms firm over the next three years, the Press Association report.

BT profits and plans

Revenues for the year to end-March were GBP£20.9 billion, ahead of an expected GBP£20.7 billion, and BT said it expected the trend to keep improving with 2010/11 revenues seen at about GBP£20 billion. Pre-tax profits increased seven percent to GBP£2.7 billion, the British paper The Telegraph reported.

The superfast broadband will support BT's plans to grow its television offering, which is currently based around its on-demand digital TV service BT Vision.

The regulator's recent move to lower the wholesale cost of pay television programming means that BT expects to offer Sky Sports 1 and 2 in time for the start of the new football season in August.

Mr. Livingston said efficiency improvements had allowed BT to accelerate its growth plans. The GBP£2.5 billion investment in fibre is one of the largest in the world that does not rely on public sector funding and where the network is open to all service providers on an equal basis.

So should Virgin now be worrying? Maybe Virgin vs BT has just started to get interesting....

Jodie Humphries

Jodie Humphries graduated from Bath Spa University with a BA Hons in Creative Writing in 2008. She has worked for GDS Publishing for the digital group since July 2009. She has previous experience with writing for the web, running her own website since April 2007.

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