BT rolls out 8Mbps speed increase

All new BT Broadband customers will receive an up to 8Mbps service as standard, but existing customers may have to wait for an upgrade, the ISP has announced.

People signing up with BT will receive the super-fast service from £14.99 a month for the first three months, going to £17.99 after that.

However, a BT spokesman told Web User, if existing customers want an upgrade, they need to register online.

He said he couldn’t estimate how long the upgrade process will take as it will be done on a case-by-case basis but it could be as little as five days.

Michael Philpott, principal analyst at technology consultancy Ovum, said the registration process is BT’s way of controlling take-up and ensuring they get it right.

He warned that some people could need to buy new modems to handle the speed increase.

New data from BT that shows 99.9 per cent of premises in the UK are now connected to a broadband-enabled exchange, but not all premises within these areas are suitable for broadband service delivery, especially at higher speeds, as they are too far from the exchanges.

BT has also announced it has bought online electronics retailer dabs.com.

BT said the move will help it strengthen its online sales and service capabilities, particularly for small and medium-sized business and consumer products.

http://www.bt.com/getbroadband
http://www.dabs.com