BT to Offer 20Mbps Bandwidth Upgrade for Free

 

British Telecom is working on the final details of the upgrade of its broadband lines, which should boost the internet bandwidth for millions of customers to up to 20Mbps. The upgrade will come without any additional cost burden for the customers.

 

Earlier in the year, BT Broadband announced plans of upgrading all its lines to the next generation ADSL2+ technology. With the upgrade now ready to move into implementation phase, the ISP will be in a position to provide increased bandwidth to about 40% of its clients this year, with another 15% being added by March 2010.

 

The free upgrade offer is not exactly without its conditions though; BT Broadband plans to have existing customers sign an additional 12-months contract before they can enjoy higher speeds. And while the upgraded bandwidth sounds good, it does not match the ISP’s original announcement of providing up to 24Mbps.

 

In addition to this increase in internet speeds, the company is also beginning the trials of its new 40Mbps fibre optic based internet service. The trials will however, only be limited to Whitchurch, South Wales, and Muswel Hill areas of London for now. 40% of the firm’s existing and new customers can expect to be offered this experimental bandwidth in the next year.

 

 

While speed is being upgraded for some customers, those with the lowest broadband packages will continue to receive limited bandwidth of just 1Mbps in peak hours for checking out iPlayer and YouTube. According to BT Broadband, the reduced speed as well as the download limits of 10GB and 20GB will also continue for such customers.

 

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