BT says copper networks can still be used for superfast broadband services

Many Internet service providers are moving forward with their broadband networks with fibre technology. Virgin Media had already begun deploying their fibre optic broadband networks a year earlier and has recently announced that the first phase of their rollout had already been completed, with over a third of the UK now having access to speeds of up to 100Mb. CityFibre has also already announced its intent to raise $800 million in order to build a fibre network that will have the capacity to provide gigabit-per-second connections to about a million households and establishments in Britain.

But a leading firm, BT Broadband, has come forward, saying that copper networks can still actually be used to deliver fast speeds. BT Broadband has also been working overtime to upgrade its networks to fibre, with its deployment going ahead of schedule, since it will be completed by 2014 rather than the previously announced year of 2015.

During the Westminster e-Forum, director of strategy, policy and portfolio at BT, Sean Williams, confirmed that the broadband giant will not shutting down their copper networks anytime soon.

Williams said: “Copper is a permanent feature of our network. There will be people who want copper telephony and not broadband.” He explained that providers can still take advantage of their old networks to support the growing demand and even out capacity on their fibre networks as well.

However, business unit director of carrier solutions at Fujitsu Bill Mackenzie thinks otherwise, asserting that point-to-point fibre would still prove to be much more advantageous in terms of longevity and value in investment: “Fibre is cheaper to deploy and will allow service providers to keep their costs low and in turn offer better packages to their customers.”

Mackenzie also spoke about the UK government’s BDUK program and on the investments that the broadband industry has been allocated with, stating: “There will still be parts of the UK where from Fujitsu’s perspective the case will just not work. For me it’s about making sure we make the right investment at the right time for the long term, rather than doing it in the short-term which may end in cul-de-sacs.”

He also opined that BDUK’s imposed time limits was an added challenge to deploying a full fibre network. The government has set the deadline as the year 2015. Mackenzie added: “The BDUK money comes with a significant timeline challenge to meet these deadlines and industrialise the process at the same time.”

Source – ZDNet