BT will begin a series of trials later this year to attempt to push broadband coverage in the UK closer to 100 percent.
At present, around 0.2 percent of people who are connected to an ADSL-enabled exchange can't actually get broadband. In some cases, this is because they live too far from the exchange for ADSL to work, or because their line quality is too poor. In other cases, it's because they are connected to their local exchange by legacy fibre-optic cables known as TPON (Telephony over Passive Optical Networks). TPON, unlike copper, can't carry an ADSL signal.
BT announced on Monday that over the next few months it will run trials aimed at resolving both problems. Trials in rural Yorkshire and Northern Ireland will put broadband DSLAM equipment into street cabinets close to subscribers and linked back to the exchange by fibre-optic cables. In effect, the cabinet becomes a digital extension of the exchange.
A second set of trials starts in December and also connects local DSLAMs to exchanges via fibre-optic, in this case replacing TPON installations. TPON was rolled out by BT in the 1980s and early 1990s, typically to bring telephone services to new housing estates.
Back in 2003, BT announced that it was planning to run copper alongside the TPON fibre links to allow ADSL signals to be supported. A BT spokesman explained on Tuesday that this copper overlay programme was continuing, but that it did not address the needs of some people who are based a long way from their local exchange.
BT's trials will not address another issue holding the UK back from universal broadband, the fact that some of the most remote local exchanges remain incompatible with ADSL; BT has said that technologies such as wireless rather than ADSL could play a part here.
Talkback
Even though I live in London I have major problems with Broadband (even 512k) after equipment was 'upgraded' at the excange. Our socket is quite far from the exchange and several people have problems who live nearby.
Does anybody who we can talk to about when the DSLAM will be installed or if there are plans to do so in our area?
I have a house in central brighton and in a large estate just between southampton and winchester. Neither House can currently support broadband.
The house in brighton had 1mbit broadband for 6 months but then it failed and has been investigated for 3 months now with no resoulution.
The house outside southampton relates more to this article with a fibre optic line that BT refuse to change to copper as it would not be "cost efficient". I cannot get cable broadband at this house and its proving very annoying as I do some work from home. There are several people in my area with the same area but even after petitioning a local MP nothing is going to be done.
I think this is astonishing in 2006.
I have lived in rural Wales for some time now and find the attitude of BT to it's minority of cutomers that live in rural areas way beyond abysmal!!!!!
When I lived in mid Powys where the local population was scattered on hill farms with one small hamlet of 12 houses they expected us to fork out the cash to install Broadband.
I now live in the south of the county and have been trying to get the fabulous 8mb broadband (2 yes sir 6.5mb minimum up to 8mb") since February 2006it is now late November 2006.
Hurrah it is installed with a Home Hub and Softphone and a speed of 250kb!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! And they want to charge me the going rate for 8mb.
There must be technology available that will allow us to get better service, both from the management and the equipment.
I have suggested that a pig-a-back signal booster system could be used in the voids at the top of our wonderful red telephone boxes; another would be to add some sort of device in the "green boxes". The best would be for the government to insist that we in rural areas get equal opportunity like everyonee else.
I personally would, if in government, charge BT a minimum of £1 million a day! until they got their act together, swift results would be acheived methinks.