If recent news that BT is to push out its ADSL2+ broadband service throughout the UK then it is likely to be a key topic in a talk that will soon be given to the Norfolk future conference by a top BT executive, although it is unlikely to affect Norfolk’s current broadband issue if it is true.

With the proposition of broadband connections being rolled out to more than half of all homes that are on an ADSL2+ enabled exchange with speeds of up to 9Mbps is unlikely to cause much excitement in the Norfolk area and that is because only telephone exchanges that already have ADSL2+ offered by other network providers are currently part of the planned rollout. The planned BT rollout will essentially mean that Norfolk homes in the Swaffham area will still be waiting until at least 2012 before they are able to access ADSL2+, whilst there will simply be more choice in areas like Kings Lynn and other larger towns in Norfolk.

By 2011 BT Wholesale will have a coverage footprint of 75 percent for its ADSL2+ services whereas TalkTalk already has coverage of 80 percent in 2009 with this figure set to increase as it plans to increase its Local Loop Unbundling (LLU) even further.

In Norfolk homes fall under 3 demographics the urban areas that have 375 000 people living there, a smaller 275 000 living in towns and areas on the fringe and finally the villages and hamlets that have 265 000 people. The fact that only half of the Norfolk population would be covered if it were to enable a dozen of its phone exchanges with ADSL2+ is the most concerning issue at the moment.

It is unlikely that BT wholesale will be any different from other commercial companies like TalkTalk, that are free to sell the services that they offer anywhere they wish and probably will if they feel they can benefit financially from it. Many experts feel that Ofcom need to look more closely at the rules that have been imposed on BT as it may be discouraging the company from setting up ADSL2+ and true next generation services in areas where other network operators have yet to do so.

Source - Think Broadband