BT will expand hi-speed net
June 18, 2009
BT is to examine expanding its superfast broadband network to cover 90 per cent of homes after ministers published plans to subsidise the roll-out of high-speed internet access across the country.CEO Ian Livingston told the Financial Times the government's planned broadband tax meant BT could investigate going far beyond its existing commitment to provide a superfast fixed-line network for 40 per cent of households by 2012.
Livingston said: "We're keen to get fibre to as many homes as possible – and so the levy is a positive step towards increasing availability. The devil will be in the detail, but, if the plans are workable, then it could be feasible that we [would] deliver somewhere in the region of 90 per cent coverage."
BT's existing plans to roll out its fibre-based network to 40 per cent of homes by 2012 will cost it £1.5bn.