BT, which had been testing a fiber-to-the-home architecture in the U.K. community of Ebbsfleet earlier this year, said it is committing to a broader FTTH network roll-out with an investment of around $3 billion. The company mentioned IPTV and high-definition TV as being among the reasons for making the investment. While some regions of the world, such as France, have seen carriers be aggressive early on with fiber projects, U.K. broadband deployments have been characterized more by technologies like ADSL2+. BT said the fiber push will reach 10 million homes by 2012, but some observers already are saying that the spending commitment by BT indicates a cautious and limited roll-out plan.
In other IPTV-related news at BT, the carrier has introduced a new wireless router for its Home Hub connected home service. The router is based on the 802.11n WiFi specification, and it greatly improves coverage range, security and other aspects of the telco's Home Hub service.
For more:
- read this story [1] at ZDNet.co.uk
- check out this Home Hub coverage [2] at Connected Home News
Related articles:
BT was nowhere near making a fiber commitment two years ago. BT report [3]
BT recently sold content delivery firm Assethouse to Amino Technologies. BT report [4]
Links:
[1] http://news.zdnet.co.uk/communications/0,1000000085,39447462,00.htm?r=1
[2] http://www.connected-home-news.com/content/view/727/47/
[3] http://www.fierceiptv.com/story/bt-not-going-with-ftth/2006-11-22
[4] http://www.fierceiptv.com/story/amino-acquires-bt-baby-assethouse/2008-06-10