When do you expect end-users across the UK to start moving to 21CN?
BT’s 21CN deployment strategy, agreed with industry, prioritises the delivery of new services, such as 21CN Ethernet and 21CN broadband. This ensures that the new services become available as quickly as possible, to as many people as possible.
After windows for voluntary migration on an exchange by exchange basis, a period of planned migration will follow moving all customers off our legacy platforms enabling BT to realise the cost savings from its legacy network switch-off.
Next generation broadband will progressively roll out across the country, rising to a potential footprint of around 10 million homes and businesses by Spring 2009. Wholesale Ethernet is expected to be available from 600 UK nodes by Spring 2009.
How will the introduction of 21CN affect me as a customer? What do I need to do now?
Initially BT is focusing its activity on delivering exciting new wholesale products and services over 21CN to drive voluntary migration onto the new platform.
Communications providers (CPs) can choose to provide products and services based on these wholesale services for end users connected to 21CN broadband-enabled exchanges. However as these are new services, not upgrades of what’s available today - we expect that CPs will take time to implement new services for end users. They need to develop and market end user products and services, putting in place their systems and processes to underpin the customer experience.
How will end users be advised of their move to 21CN?
During the windows of customer-led migration, CPs and ISPs will market their new products and services and be responsible for communicating practical information to those end users signing-up for next generation services. However, Switched-On - a pan-industry, independently branded communications programme for all end users – will continue to offer consumers and small, single premise businesses help with general 21CN–related enquiries, referring specific queries to communications providers. Visitors can either visit the Switched-On web site or call 0800 030 4000.
After the periods of voluntary migration, BT will implement a programme of legacy platform and service decommissioning. During these mass migration periods switched-on will offer end users specific information about their 21CN upgrade.
Communications providers will continue to deliver direct updates to corporate customers based on centrally agreed briefing materials.
What is Consult21?
21CN is challenging for large parts of the industry. Recognising this, BT took a strategic decision to be fully transparent and to take a wholly inclusive approach. It is consulting widely with operators, vendors, customers and policy makers. To ensure these key stakeholders can contribute to BT's plans we created Consult21, the largest voluntary industry consultation programme of its kind any where in the communications world today.