BT replaces FTTC with faster service

BT has introduced its new 52Mbps package broadband that provides a 'faster standard fibre service' than is offered by other providers including TalkTalk, Sky Broadband and Virgin Media. Costing from only £10/month for new customers, BT is offering unlimited access to millions of BT Wi-fi hotspots and BT Cloud storage, including the features BT Parental Controls and PT Protect online security.

Friday, Apr 15th, 2016 (12:01 am) - Score 3,382

Internet provider BT has today replaced their old Fibre-to-the-Cabinet (FTTC / VDSL) based 38Mbps BTInfinity 1 broadband service with a new up to 52Mbps package speed, which they brag is “a faster standard fibre service” than you can get from Sky Broadband, TalkTalk or Virgin Media.

The eagle eyed among you will no doubt note that the new service is based off Openreach’s (BT) new and slightly more expensive 55Mbps (10Mbps upload) FTTC product profile, which was announced at the end of 2015 and launched during January 2016 (here).

At the time we speculated that BT would probably be one of the first to introduce a related package, not least because their new UltraHD (4K) TV service recommends an Internet download speed of 44Mbps to allow extra headroom for other services (here). Obviously that wouldn’t work so well with the old 38Mbps package, but 52Mbps should be fine (assuming your line supports it).

However until now no other ISPs have launched a related product, which is despite a reasonable number of consumers showing an interest in the new speed option (here). Of course all of that has today changed with BT’s launch.

David McDonald, BT Consumer’s Director of Broadband, said: “Our research has shown that it’s what you can actually do with your broadband that matters most to consumers. We want to give them a faster speed as standard so that everyone in a household can be online at the same time and still enjoy watching their favourite YouTube or HD content without buffering or bickering over whose turn it is. The new, faster BT Infinity 1 service is about giving consumers a premium broadband experience as standard, allowing them to enjoy all the digital world has to offer.”

Apparently the BT Infinity 1 up to 52Mbps service is available to new customers from £10 per month for the first 12 months (25GB usage) or £12.50 for “unlimited” usage (don’t forget to add £17.99 line rental and a £49 activation fee), which includes unlimited access to more than 5 million BT Wi-fi hotspots across the UK, BT Protect online security, BT Parental Controls and the “unlimited” usage package also includes BT Cloud (100GB) storage with free weekend calls.

By comparison Virgin Media’s entry-level headline rate broadband package is the slightly slower 50Mbps (in fairness they should probably have boosted this to 70Mbps by default last year), while most other FTTC based ISPs continue to promote the old ‘up to’ 38Mbps package. It will now be interesting to see if BT’s rivals follow suit in order to reduce BT’s bragging rights.

Mind you not everybody will be able to get the new speed and indeed if your copper line couldn’t even get to the top 38-40Mbps FTTC profile speed before then taking 52Mbps won’t make a blind bit of difference as your line will still be too poor.