BT expands ADSL rollout
BT's ADSL rollout will be increased by the addition of another 100 exchanges, it was unveiled on Monday. Towns like Aberdeen, Brighton, Liverpool and Nottingham have been added to the broadband map.
In total, an extra 16 towns and cities will be able to access ADSL services from June. BT already plans to rollout ADSL in 400 exchanges across the UK by the end of March. In total, nearly two million households and 40,000 businesses -- 35 percent of the population -- will be able to access broadband services by the middle of the year.
Most commentators anticipate the service will enter the market at around £50 per month: BT is offering ADSL wholesale to ISPs at £35. Not all ISPs will add a surcharge. Demon Internet has been offered an ADSL service for £35 a month since January, with participants being offered an additional carrot of free access for the first three months. According to Demon, around 3,500 customers have so far taken up the offer.
Freeserve is also offering DSL services in Manchester and London for the higher price of £49.99 per month. The UK's biggest ISP is currently considering a deal with Sky that would see live Premiership football broadcast via the Net as an incentive to its users.
BT has come in for criticism for its slow rollout of DSL services, with some commentators claiming that it has been dragging its heels over fears the new service will affect current offerings like ISDN.
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