BT expands 10Gbps Ethernet fibre network connections

Manchester, Leeds and Slough sites aim to meet business connectivity and speed needs

BT has added three new data centre points of presence (PoPs) to its 10Gbps Ethernet fibre network in response to growing network demands from businesses across the country.

BT announced that the new locations have been established in Manchester, Leeds and Slough to make it easier for wholesale customers to hook up their Ethernet connections to BT's core network.

This should improve data transfers speeds and reduce latency. BT said that increasing its data centre PoP footprint would also make it quicker and easier to deploy new connections by reducing the distance to the company's core network.

Paul Beacham, general manager for TDM [time-division multiplexing] data, ethernet and optical product management at BT Wholesale, said the company had made the move to keep pace with the network demands being made by companies.

"We believe the huge benefits of the cloud can only be achieved if hosted services are run over reliable, high-capacity fibre network connectivity, which is delivered flawlessly," he said.

"These services are being adopted in increasing numbers by businesses of all sizes, so BT is investing in more network options to support that growth in demand.

"We want to be in the right locations and at the right price for our customers in order to support, satisfy and stimulate the growth of UK plc."

The new sites are managed by third-party providers. TelecityGroup manages the Manchester site, while Equinix oversees the Slough.

BT said that more data centre PoP locations will come online before the end of 2014 with plans to support higher bandwidths with 10Gbps ports.

The bandwidths supported by the network will be further increased to 40Gbps and 100Gbps in 2015.

This story first appeared on our sister site, V3.co.uk