ibc0109v3_ibc 01/09/2015 11:12 Page 4
BT connects first G.fast trials
esidents of Huntingdon – a
market town in Cambridgeshire
– have became the first people in
the UK to take part in the field trial of a
new type of ultrafast broadband
technology from BT which will allow
people to stream live ultra-highdefinition 4K video content to multiple
devices at once.
The trial, which is being delivered by BT's
network subsidiary Openreach, is open to all
communications providers on equal terms. That
means, say BT, people will have a choice of
service provider and any technological
developments will benefit the wider industry.
Two thousand homes and businesses will be
covered by the trial in the coming weeks. It is
already delivering speeds of up to 330 megabits
per second (Mbps) - more than ten times the
current UK average - using G.fast, a new
technology that has been pioneered by BT's
R&D division.
They say G.fast changes the way today’s
broadband is transmitted, delivering ultrafast
speeds that currently require fibre to be run all
the way to the premises (FTTP). This is
significant as it will enable Openreach to make
ultrafast broadband available to a much larger
number of homes and businesses, and in a
shorter timeframe, than if it had focused on
FTTP alone.
If trials such as the one in Huntingdon prove
successful Openreach aims to start deploying
G.fast in 2016/17 alongside its fibre-to-thecabinet and fibre-to-the-premises services.
The company believes that G.fast will enable
it to make speeds of a few hundred megabits
per second available to millions of homes by
R
Cross MediaWorks
buys BlackArrow for
ad technology
US independent media
services firm Cross
MediaWorks has acquired
BlackArrow, a specialist in
advertising and data
solutions for the pay-TV
industry.
Reaching more than 40
million homes, BlackArrow
provides software solutions
that help the global pay-TV
industry deliver more timely
6 ADVANCED TELEVISION
2020 and deliver up to 500Mbps to most of the
UK within a decade as the technology is
developed further.
Culture Secretary John Whittingdale said:
“The UK already leads Europe when it comes to
superfast broadband coverage and speeds, with
around 40,000 more homes and businesses
getting access every week thanks to the
government rollout. We want to stay ahead of
R&D teams. We conducted the world’s firs