BT wins a million for broadband

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Engineers are working hard to install broadband in exchanges

Tuesday 10th June 2003

BT has connected one million customers to broadband, in line with an ambitious pledge last year.

The figure includes customers of internet providers, who have bought BT's wholesale broadband product.

It reflects falling prices and a multi-million advertising campaign from BT and other internet providers which use the telephone lines to provide customers with ADSL broadband.

To mark the occasion the telecommunications firm has brought forward some of the dates for connecting telephone exchanges in remoter parts of the UK to fast net services.

So-called trigger levels demand a certain amount of interest from local customers before their exchange is ADSL-enabled.

Achievement

BT has decided to reduce the number of registrations needed by up to a quarter.

There has been criticism that the levels have been set artificially high in some parts of the country.

About 70% of the UK is currently able to receive fast net services via their telephone line and BT hopes to increase this to 80% by the end of the year.

"In February last year I set the challenging target of one million DSL broadband connections by summer 2003," said BT chief executive Ben Verwaayen.

"Well, we are there by early summer and it is a great achievement," he added.

Missed target

However one of BT's flagship broadband services, BT Broadband, which offers a connection with no extras such as e-mail or security, has not fared so well.

BT pledged to have half a million customers connected to this service by the summer but it is believed the figures fall significantly short of this.

Despite this, BT now has over 100 service providers supplying broadband over phone lines and has around half of the UK's broadband market.

The one millionth customer to get a fast net service from BT is a supported living scheme which helps disadvantages young people in the South Leeds area.

The Winrose Project took its ADSL from Legend Internet and intends to use the connection for e-learning and to offer e-mail and internet access to the youngsters.

More than two million homes and businesses in the UK have a high speed internet connection, said the telecoms watchdog Oftel two weeks ago.

The figure includes thousands of people who use a 128kbps service from NTL whereas most regard true broadband as being services over 500kbps.

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