UK telecoms provider, BT has announced plans to deliver broadband speeds of up to 500Mbps to homes and small business across the UK. It says it’ll achieve that by using G.fast, a standard for local loops shorter than 250 meters which can offer speeds of up to 1Gbps.
The company will begin testing G.fast in two pilot locations this summer with broader deployments expected to start in 2016/17 if the trials are successful. The bad news is that BT says the plan could take up to a decade to complete.
The pilot schemes will take place in Huntingdon, Cambridgeshire and Gosforth, Newcastle with around 4,000 homes eligible to take part.
BT is being extremely vague about when most people will see improvements. It says it expects to offer initial speeds of a few hundred megabits to millions of homes and businesses by 2020 with an increase to 500Mbps coming “as further industry standards are secured and new kit is developed.”
The company is also planning a premium fiber broadband network for customers who want speeds of up to 1Gbps but has not given a timeline for the rollout of that project. It’s currently expanding its existing fiber network with a promise that the UK will reach 95 percent coverage “within the next few years.”
➤ BT CEO sets out ultrafast broadband vision
Read next: BT In Exclusive Talks To Buy EE For £12.5 Billion
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