BT cranks up broadband speeds for thousands of small businesses on copper lines

• BT is the first Internet Service Provider in the UK to fuse fixed and 4G speeds together to boost slower copper broadband connections
• New technology can double download speeds and make upload speeds ten times faster on average
• BT also introduces a landline-free low frills fibre package for small firms

BT today announced the launch of a new product that will boost fixed broadband speeds for thousands of UK small businesses which are yet to be upgraded to fibre broadband.

BT’s Hybrid Speed Boost product is the first in the UK to combine a copper broadband line with EE’s leading 4G network to provide an automatic uplift in speeds, by bonding connections from broadband and mobile networks together. Businesses can benefit from an average download speed boost of 20Mbps - more than twice the average download speed for copper broadband connections. Average upload speeds can be uplifted to 10Mbps – which is ten times the average upload speed for copper lines.[1]

Hybrid Speed Boost is included at no extra cost for new BT business broadband customers taking ADSL broadband plans. Existing customers can also benefit when they renew their plan.[2]

BT’s Enterprise business is launching the new product as an interim solution for small firms in those parts of the country which are yet to be upgraded to fibre broadband, as BT Group continues to extend its full fibre network across the country. BT Group is aiming to reach 25 million homes and businesses with full fibre by the end of 2026, working with its infrastructure partner, Openreach, which has already brought the technology to 7.2 million premises. Openreach is currently building full fibre to around 50,000 premises a week, putting it on target to reach 10 million premises by the end of March, 2023.

Chris Sims, BT’s MD for its SoHo (Single/Small Office, Home Office) unit, said: “Using cutting-edge technology, we’re launching the first product in the UK to fuse fixed and mobile connections together to bring faster speeds to small firms which might be struggling on slower copper lines. While the Openreach full fibre network is expanding at pace, week on week, we understand the frustration of small firms who risk being stuck behind as they wait to hear when ultrafast full fibre broadband will come to them. Fast, reliable broadband is vital for the smooth, day to day running of a business, so we’ve taken action today to boost speeds for business taking copper broadband – at no extra cost.

“Hybrid Speed Boost could revolutionise operations for small businesses that may currently be struggling with the required bandwidth to process large files, access cloud services or use HD video.”

Benjy Levey, Director at Eat Me Events based in London, said: “I’m really impressed at the speeds we’re now getting using the new Hybrid Speed Boost solution. On average we’re now getting 30-40Mbps download speeds and 14-15Mbps upload – the uplift in speed is transformative for our business for when we’re meeting with clients and suppliers via video calls. There's no more buffering or dropped connections! Customer data downloads have got so much quicker too.”

The launch of BT’s new Hybrid Speed Boost product sees BT deliver on its first commitment contained within its recently announced  Enterprise Customer Charter. The new charter is made up of a range of new initiatives from BT aimed at boosting the growth of UK businesses and the public sector and includes a pledge to develop inclusive tech to assist those small businesses which are struggling on slower, copper lines.

BT is also introducing a new ‘no-frills’ fibre broadband package for cost-conscious small firms in fibre enabled areas. Fibre 38 is a new landline free fibre broadband package which uses Fibre-to-the-Cabinet (FTTC) technology and offers BT’s lowest prices for fibre-based business broadband. BT’s Fibre 38 package delivers guaranteed minimum speeds of up to 38Mbps, unlimited data, built-in business-grade security tools - all without the need for businesses to add a phone line.  

Ends

Notes to Editors

• Customers can find out more about Hybrid Speed Boost here: Help with Hybrid Speed Boost | Help | BT Business (custhelp.com)
• Hybrid Speed Boost from BT is underpinned by MultiPath TCP (MPTCP) technology from Tessares. MultiPath TCP is an enhancement to TCP, and enables the efficient, selective combining of existing network assets. It takes TCP based traffic and is able to split the traffic over multiple paths (such as fixed and mobile networks) to deliver increased speeds to customers.
• Find out more about Tessares here: www.tessares.net/
• Hybrid Speed Boost boosts TCP web traffic, which covers the vast majority of web traffic. Other types of traffic such as UDP are not boosted. This is typically VPN traffic and online gaming.[3]
• Speed boost based on tests showing median uplift of 20Mbps in download speeds (rounded to the nearest whole Mbps) over a 24-hour period.

[1] Average speed boost based on tests showing median uplift of 20Mbps download speed and 10Mbps upload, rounded to the nearest whole Mbps. Uplift in speed is not guaranteed and any uplift will vary depending on your indoor EE 4G Network coverage, the time of day and the number of people using the network. The average download speed on ADSL without Hybrid Speed Boost is significantly lower than 20Mbps, so when adding the average Hybrid Speed Boost uplift of 20Mbps, on average, this is more than double the original speed. The average upload speed on ADSL without Hybrid Speed Boost is below 1Mbps, while the average uplift with Hybrid Speed Boost is 10Mbps. On average this is more than 10 times faster than the original download speed.

[2] Hybrid Speed Boost add-on available to new or re-signing BT Business Broadband customers on ADSL (copper) access lines only. Not available on fibre. Suitable EE 4G network coverage (as advised by BT), Smart Hub 2 router and Hybrid Connect device required.

[3] Through MPTCP, only TCP based traffic will be boosted. UDP or other protocols such as QUIC will not be boosted.