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First field trial of 'G.fast' ultrafast broadband
Ultrafast broadband technology 'G.fast' field trialing at delivering speeds of up to 330 megabits per second.
The first field trial of 'G.fast' ultrafast broadband, a new type of ultrafast broadband technology from BT Openreach will be taking place in Huntingdon – a market town in Cambridgeshire.
The trial, which is being delivered by Openreach, is open to all communications providers on equal terms. That means people will have a choice of service provider and any technological developments will benefit the wider industry.
Two thousand homes and businesses will be covered by the trial in the coming weeks. It is already delivering speeds of up to 330 megabits per second (Mbps) - more than ten times the current UK average - using G.fast.
G.fast changes the way today's broadband is transmitted, delivering ultrafast speeds that currently require fibre to be run all the way to the premises (FTTP). This is significant as it will enable Openreach to make ultrafast broadband available to a much larger number of homes and businesses, and in a shorter timeframe, than if it had focused on FTTP alone.
The trial will run for 6-9 months, allowing Openreach, and its 8 communications provider trialists, as well as BT's R&D division, to assess the technical performance of the technology across a large footprint.
If this trial, and others similar, prove successful - and if UK regulation continues to encourage investment - Openreach aims to start deploying G.fast in 2016/17 alongside its fibre-to-the-cabinet and fibre-to-the-premises services.
The company believes that G.fast will enable it to make speeds of a few hundred megabits per second available to millions of homes by 2020 and deliver up to 500Mbps to most of the UK within a decade as the technology is developed further.
This trial follows the recent announcement that more than three million homes and businesses have been reached by the Government's rollout of superfast broadband.
In relation to this work, the Culture, Media and Sport Select Committee has announced an inquiry on Establishing world-class connectivity throughout the UK. If you are a techUK member and would like to input to techUK's response through the Communications Policy Council, please get in touch.
