BT unveils £1.5bn broadband investment

BT has revealed plans to invest £1.5 billion in broadband services, heralding what officials deem the communication infrastructure Britain needs for long-term competitiveness and growth.

The centre is supposed to be a hub of entrepreneurial activity for technology firms in the UK.

Industry cannot achieve a move as significant as this on its own

Ed Richards

Chief Executive

Ofcom

The services, offering up to 100 megabits a second (Mbs), will see copper wire replaced with a fibre optic network, and the potential for future speeds of more than 1,000 Mbs has been affirmed.

Ed Richards, the Chief Executive of regulator Ofcom, welcomed the investment, commenting that the new networks will form a critical part of the UK's infrastructure and "change our experience of communications".

"Industry cannot achieve a move as significant as this on its own," he added.

Business Secretary John Hutton also greeted the plans, telling Bloomberg: “[This investment] is an excellent example of the market delivering the communication infrastructure Britain needs for long-term competitiveness and growth in the knowledge-based economy.

Forming part of BT's wider strategy of delivering next-generation broadband services nationwide, the telecommunications giant's investment programme is also intended to help the UK join "the world super-league" for broadband speeds.