BT to rollout FTTC to 303 new exchanges

Meaning four million customers will have fibre connections

Openreach aims to give at least 40 per cent of the UK the potential to receive FTTC by summer 2012

BT has released details of the 303 new exchanges that will receive optical fibre-based network connections from their street cabinets.

BT's infrastructure arm Openreach will enable the exchanges to receive fibre-to-the-cabinet (FTTC) connections from street cabinets serving four million residential customers.

More than three fifths (63 per cent) of the exchanges enabled are in the south east, with well over a third (37 per cent) of the total announced based in London.

Although the technology will be primarily FTTC, a BT spokeswoman said: " there would be some fibre-to-the-home/premises connections enabled."

This is the biggest phase to date of BT's fibre rollout programme, with the timeline for a universal upgrade being autumn 2010 to autumn 2011.

BT's spokeswoman said that the connections would be available to other providers on a wholesale basis.

Openreach's aim is to give at least 40 per cent of the UK the potential to receive FTTC by summer 2012.