BT looks to extend fibre coverage, supports minimum broadband speeds

(ShareCast News) - A new universal minimum broadband speed and millions of premises to get ultra-fast speeds is part of Britain's digital future, according to BT's chief executive.Gavin Patterson unveiled the company's aim to deliver Britain's digital future and cement the UK's future prosperity as the G20's leading digital economy.According to Ofcom, 90% of UK premises can already access fibre broadband.But speaking at BT's Delivering Britain's Digital Future conference in London, Patterson said BT has planned to extend fibre broadband coverage beyond government's 95% of premises target.He said that can happen due to "success dividend" clauses in contracts covering the fibre rollout co-funded by BT, Whitehall and local councils.It means BT has to reinvest or return money if take-up exceeds certain levels in areas where public funds have been used.BT also is aiming for 10m premises to have ultrafast broadband with speeds of 300 to 500Mbps by end of 2020, as well as a 1Gbps service available.Patterson also announced BT's support of the government to deliver a new universal minimum broadband speed of 5-10Mbps.He thinks the UK has an even brighter future ahead if the right decisions are made now."We want to forge an ultrafast future for Britain and stand ready to help government deliver the broadband speeds necessary for every property to enjoy modern day internet services, such as high definition TV streaming and cloud computing."To achieve this, we need a collaborative effort across industry and government."Technology commentator Owen Williams thinks what BT wants to do is achievable, to an extent."95% of premises is pretty difficult when you factor in remote properties where it's financially unfeasible to deliver fibre internet."Would you really build a cable out to somewhere that only has one or two homes? I'm not sure.However he believes the minimum broadband speed should be attainable."The use of newer technology can deliver slightly slower speeds over longer distances."It'll be an expensive, long undertaking that again will see challenges in rural areas, but is possible with the right investment."Williams believes that broadband internet is becoming a basic right, and BT's move reinforces that.A paper from Deutsche Bank highlighted the announcement is a public message to neutralise the efforts of competitors for the ear of the Government and Ofcom."The subtext is that the UK economy, consumers and enterprises have done well from the current regulatory approach to fixed-line telecommunications and that any departure from the current functional separation model risks tampering with a success story."A new report from KPMG was also unveiled, valuing the impact of BT's future commitments as worth £20 to £30bn to the UK economy over the next 10 years.