Variation to BT’s Undertakings under the Enterprise Act 2002 related to Fibre-to-the-Cabinet | Ofcom

Variation to BT’s Undertakings under the Enterprise Act 2002 related to Fibre-to-the-Cabinet | Ofcom

BT has been granted a variation to its undertakings allowing Openreach to control and operate electronic equipment in the street cabinet.

This means that BT will install Fibre to the Street Cabinet (FTTC) and then place DSL Multiplexors in the cabinets. Since the cabinets are usually close to the premises they are serving (in urban environments at least) this will allow BT to offer VDSL2 (and variants) to end users offering 100Mb/s type download speeds.

This will still require major investment from BT and they will also have to provide equal access to other operators but if it all goes ahead will allow high speed Internet to homes providing IPTV (Internet TV), Video on demand and other services. BT Vision might stand a chance of success, though BSkyB will be watching this very carefully (and they'll also likely offer an IPTV service).

Unfortunately this again increases the digital divide as rural areas will still suffer as services such as VDSL2 only work at high speed with sub 100m connections and street cabinets in rural areas may be miles away from premises. This is one reason BT is looking towards wireless and potentially the 2.6GHz spectrum that will be up for auction later this year or next year.