BT launches 100Mbps fibre superfast broadband package

But only very select few can get it...

BT has launched its fastest ever broadband service, a full fibre-to-the-home (FTTH) offering supporting download speeds of up to 100Mbps and upload speeds of up to 15Mbps.

The launch of the 100Mbps package, known as BT Infinity Option 3, brings BT's flagship broadband offering in line with the fastest download speeds offered by Virgin Media, although BT's package offers faster upload speeds than Virgin's service.

However, BT's 100Mbps service is only available to a very small group of customers - the telco says it is becoming available in "some streets" in 10 exchange areas. By contrast, Virgin Media's 100Mbps service is available to nine million homes - ramping up to 13 million by mid-2012.

At the time of writing, BT had not responded to a request for clarification of how many homes will be able to access the 100Mbps service.

The 10 BT exchanges where FTTH is being made available are: Highams Park and Leytonstone in London, Ilford in the London borough of Redbridge, Ashford in Middlesex, Forest Hill in the London borough of Lewisham (pictured below), Chester, York, St Austell and Exeter. The FTTH service will cost £35 per month.

The Forest Hill exchange, in London: One of a select few where BT is offering 100Mbps FTTH broadbandImage: Google Street View

The telco is investing £2.5bn in fibre which is scheduled to make faster broadband speeds available to two-thirds of the UK population by 2014.

The majority of those covered by the rollout - 75 per cent - will be able to access fibre-to-the-cabinet broadband (FTTC) - which currently supports download speeds of up to 40Mbps but which BT says will support up to 80Mbps next year, and could even exceed 100Mbps in future.

BT said its FTTC broadband services - BT Infinity Option 1 and Option 2 - are now available to more than six million premises. More than 300,000 customers have signed up to its superfast services, according to the telco.