BT is set to phase out its older generation of up to 8Mbps broadband services, Trefor Davies of Timico has revealed.

Mr Davies, the internet service provider's (ISP's) chief technology officer, explained on his official blog that the telecoms giant will enter into discussions with the industry regarding the retirement of wholesale products such as IPstream and Datastream.

Exchange areas that currently receive these slower connections are due to be upgraded to BT's 21st Century Network (21CN) solutions such as ADSL2+ and fibre to the cabinet (FTTC), which offer speeds of up to 24Mbps and 40Mbps respectively.

BT has set a target of spring 2014 for these withdrawals and migrations to take place.

While the newer technologies offer faster headline speeds, Mr Davies cautioned that subscribers who currently only receive up to 8Mbps downloads are unlikely to benefit from the full potential of an up to 40Mbps line.

Speculating on the reasons behind the announcement, the Timico executive said he understands the decision has been driven by BT's desire to stop spending money on its 20th Century Network (20CN), as well as the fact that much of the related equipment is now obsolete.

"It doesn't make sense to invest in the older more expensive 20CN network when to do so for 21CN is better all round," he stated.

Mr Davies went on to insist the move is unlikely to have any negative connotations for subscribers, commenting: "ISPs like Timico will have plenty of time to migrate customers from one technology to the other and I imagine that these customers will by and large be eager to make the change."

As part of its plans to upgrade its existing broadband infrastructure, BT announced in May that it will "roughly double" the download speeds offered by its FTTC service next year. Maximum capabilities are set to rise to 80Mbps as a result of the work.

Add a comment

Comment

Your name

Your e-mail address

Comments (0)