BT demonstrates ultrafast broadband in the West End

Around 3,000 Mayfair homes and businesses are set to have access to

Fibre to the Premises technology

A leading London councillor was given an insight into new technology which will make ultrafast broadband available to around 3,000 Mayfair homes and businesses.

The latest Fibre to the Premises (FTTP) broadband technology was demonstrated by Openreach, BT’s local network business, to Councillor Jonathan Glanz, Member for West End Ward and lead member for broadband and connectivity on Westminster City Council.

Councillor Glanz helped an Openreach engineer, John Hilliard, ‘splice’ fibre optic cable in Clifford Street, and discussed how the technology works and the opportunities it offers for Mayfair’s economic future.

Councillor Glanz said: “I am delighted that this new way of bringing fibre to the premises is being piloted in the West End and hope that it can be extended throughout the central area of Westminster to allow residents and businesses cost-effective access to ultra-fast broadband which they have long craved.”

Andrew Whale, chief engineer for Openreach, said: “It’s great to see the latest Fibre to the Premises (FTTP) technology being deployed using the new methods we have developed recently. Using micro cables, which are small diameter cables designed to get through busy underground ducts, we are able to avoid costly and disruptive civil engineering work. This in turn makes deployment much quicker and enables FTTP to be available to more customers. It’s the first time that we’ve used micro cables in the West End.”

Dr Prabhjot Basra, BT’s regional partnership director for London, said: “This is great news for Mayfair. It is the latest development in our continuing drive to make faster internet access as widely available as possible. The faster broadband speeds will make the local businesses even more competitive, helping to secure and grow local employment opportunities.”

Councillor Philippa Roe, leader of Westminster City Council and chair of the West End Partnership, said: “Providing modern broadband for businesses and residents in the heart of London makes a major contribution to our city’s economic success.

“The West End Partnership and Openreach have been working closely to rollout superfast fibre broadband in Westminster and it is clear that this relationship is already bearing fruit.

“This does not mean we are resting on our laurels. The council’s ambition is to see every Westminster business and resident connected to superfast and reliable fibre broadband, and we remain committed to come up with and support new ideas and innovations that will help us achieve this goal.”

Openreach recently announced it will make fibre available for a further 360,000 homes and businesses in London in the next two years. The rollout will take availability of fibre optic services for London homes and small businesses** beyond the current 94 per cent coverage***.

The high-speed network installed by Openreach is available on an open, wholesale basis to all companies offering fibre broadband services so local households and businesses can benefit from competitive pricing and products.

Ultrafast FTTP broadband gives users the ability to run multiple bandwidth-hungry applications at the same time such as sending and receiving large amounts of data much more quickly and efficiently.

For local businesses, the new ultrafast fibre broadband network underpins the introduction of many new services and applications. Big business applications driven by new ‘cloud computing’ services are within reach of enterprises of all sizes. Computer back up, storage and processing is faster, and the use of high-quality videoconferencing becomes viable.

Notes to Editors:

** Every business property in London can already access “Ethernet” – ultrafast high-capacity broadband over tailor-made lines. Today’s announcement concerns fibre optic connections for households and smaller businesses.

***The 94% estimate is sourced from ThinkBroadband, using Ofcom and other information and pertains to overall coverage across both Openreach and other networks.