BT is spending roughly 10bn pounds ($18.9bn) through to 2009 on the 21CN project, which was first announced in June 2004. The project, to move BT’s entire customer base on to an IP-based network, was considered highly ambitious back then because it was the first time a major carrier had agreed to totally abandon a traditional public switched telephone network in favor of an IP-based network.
BT said the first stage of the new network will be delivered in three phases in Cardiff. phase one, to run from November 2006 until March 2007, will see the upgrade of voice services to some 10% of customer lines in the Cardiff area, and the surrounding area. phase two, from April to mid-May 2007, will deliver a further 10% of upgraded lines. By the end of phase three in the summer of 2007, BT will have upgraded all 350,000 customer lines in the Cardiff area. Approximately 90,000 of these lines will also support broadband and ISDN2 and ISDN30 services.
This is a world-leading program that will provide customers with a radically improved experience and new products and services faster, said Paul Reynolds, chief executive of BT Wholesale.
BT said customers will not have to do anything for their lines to be upgraded. Telephone numbers will not change, and as all work will be carried out in BT’s telephone exchanges, no roads will have to be dug up to deliver the upgrade.
Speaking to Computer Business Review, a BT spokesperson said the main benefit of an IP-based network is that it allows for a host of converged services such as IPTV to be offered down the existing telephone line into people’s homes and businesses.
The UK carrier admits that there may not initially be a lot of services available when the network is first built, but likens it to building a motorway, with traffic soon growing to use and fill that route. BT also said that 21CN will make it a lot quicker for companies to bring their own products and services to market.
The spokesperson would not be drawn on possible broadband speeds higher than the current national 8MBps that customers are likely see from the 21CN project, other than saying that fast broadband is core to our thinking on 21CN.
BT admits that it is keeping a eye on developments in the wireless industry, and is exploring WiMax and other wireless technologies, but thinks it is still early days for wireless connectivity.
There is still a lot we can do with the fixed-line network, said the spokesperson. There is a lot of life left in fixed-line.
Once the final part of the trial in Cardiff has been completed, BT said it would begin an in-depth review with other communication providers before rolling out the upgrade to the rest of the UK, which has some 30 million telephone lines and 5,500 telephone exchanges. The national roll-out is expected to start from January 2008.
