BT to trial 1GB Broadband in Suffolk

BT has announced that early in 2011 they will be trialing one gigabit fibre broadband in Suffolk.  The trial will demonstrate the speed capabilities of BT's fibre-to-the-home (FTTH) technology, and if it goes well they will add 40 rural market towns to its current fibre roll-out.  Those towns have yet to be announced.

According to industry regulators Ofcom, less than 1% of UK homes currently have a super-fast broadband connection.  The move by BT should support the government's plan to create the best broadband network in Europe by 2015.

However, BT has been criticised for not offering FTTH more widely because most of its fibre roll-out will rely on slower fibre-to-the-cabinet (FTTC) technology.  Only a quarter of the homes it intends to offer fibre to will be connected using FTTH.

The government is set to provide £830m for firms willing to offer fast broadband services in rural areas, which it will provide "over the course of this parliament and the next".

BT said that if it was to "win funds on that scale" it would be able to provide fibre to 90% of the UK, whereas, under current plans, its fibre will only extend to 66% of the UK.