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Ten million UK homes are set to receive faster broadband by 2012 following BT’s £1.5 billion planned investment in fibre optic cables throughout the country.
The firm does however stipulate that it will only proceed if Ofcom allows it to receive a sufficient return on its investment.
The new fibre optic infrastructure would ensure speeds of up to 100 Mb per second for the millions of affected internet users, and has the potential to provide 1,000 Mb per second connections in the future.
BT says the cash has been accrued by suspending the current share buyback programme, however it may prove pertinent that the planned investment is for the same £1.5 billion figure it announced it would receive from HP following a deal back in May.
“Broadband has boosted the UK economy and is now an essential part of our customers’ lives,” said BT chief executive Ian Livingston. “We now want to make a step-change in broadband provision which will offer faster speeds than ever before. This marks the beginning of a new chapter in Britain’s broadband story.
“This is a bold step by BT and we need others to be just as bold. We are keen to partner with people who share our vision for the next phase of the broadband revolution. We want to work with local and regional bodies to decide where and when we should focus the deployment. Our aim is that urban and rural areas alike will benefit from our investment.”
