BT Press Releases

DC09-082                                                                                                                                                 March 16, 2009

Greater Manchester at the leading edge of the UK's ‘next generation broadband’ revolution

More than 70 per cent of BT lines in Greater Manchester will be enabled for
world-leading 21st Century Network by end of March

Greater Manchester is at the forefront of the UK’s development of world-leading ‘next generation broadband’ communications for homes and businesses.

BT today announced that by the end of the month exchanges in Greater Manchester supporting 71 per cent of the city’s phone and broadband lines will be enabled for ‘next generation broadband’ services on the company’s pioneering ‘21st Century Network’ (21CN).

New equipment installed by BT will allow nearly 143,000 lines to be upgraded in Greater Manchester as part of BT’s multi-billion pound investment across the UK in the world’s most advanced global communications platform, which will carry voice, data, video-on-demand and broadband services.

In the UK, it will give increased customer choice and flexibility, allow more features and enable the faster introduction of new services for all communications providers.

Mike Blackburn, BT’s North West regional director, said: “Greater Manchester is one of the first major communities in the UK to exceed 70 per cent coverage and is leading the way in the North West. It is a key milestone for the area and for this exciting, world-leading project.

“Most of the foundations are now in place for offering next generation broadband services, but of course it will take time for companies offering those services to introduce products taking full advantage of this major investment. We are working with these companies to move forward as quickly as possible.”

He emphasised that the new network “is an entirely new broadband service, not simply an improved version of what already exists”.
“Every aspect of the service is new,” he said. “It will play a major role in helping Greater Manchester and the region as a whole to attract and retain inward investment.

“The world of telecommunications is moving at a staggeringly fast pace. In recent years, we have seen a tremendous demand emerge for broadband, but we are only at the start of a very fast and exciting journey. High-speed communications are increasingly transforming the way we live, work, learn and play.

“This massive investment will offer numerous benefits. Many homes and businesses will benefit from faster broadband, with speeds of up to 20Mbit/s possible – that’s more than double the maximum speeds currently available for more UK broadband users. Communications service providers will be able to customise their products to more closely meet the needs of their customers.

“Delivered over next generation broadband, content services will be quicker, more efficient and offer a much wider range of features than those currently available, paving the way for people to enjoy many new experiences.
 
“For householders, the benefits include high definition video and voice services, much improved service quality and, increasingly, users will themselves be able to make changes and improvements, which previously could only be carried out by the service provider.

“Small firms will, more than ever before, be able to operate like bigger companies, quickly responding to changes in the market in ways once only available to much larger enterprises. For example, companies, such as restaurants, hotels or estate agents, will be able to quickly and easily voice-enable their websites so that their customers can access the information over the phone, rather than via a computer screen.

“The flexibility of the new network will make it much easier to provide businesses with their precise bandwidth needs and to quickly increase speeds when necessary. Further ahead, 21CN will also ensure the region’s homes and businesses can take full advantage of many new products and services as soon as they become available.”

The project involves the replacement of broadband equipment in the region’s 395 exchanges. Also, 10 “metro nodes” or super exchanges providing routing and signalling for the 21CN network for voice, data and video are located at strategic points across the region, as part of the biggest transformation the UK communications industry has ever seen.

By April 2009, it is expected that 1.2 million of BT’s 2.5 million lines in the North West region will be enabled for next generation broadband.

Note to Editors
The exchanges enabled in the Greater Manchester area include: