Milton Keynes Broadband Action Group

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BT's 21st Century Network

Between 2006 and 2011, BT will be upgrading its phone and broadband lines to a next-generation network called 21st Century Network (21CN).

The aim of their switched-on website is to answer questions about the new network.

More information on 21CN can be found on BT's 21CN pages.

Update December 2007

We were to be connected in November 2007. I've recently heard - unconfirmed - that this will now be March 2008. That's for broadband connections into BT's network, not voice. Note: 21CN broadband services and 21CN voice services do not HAVE to be commissioned at the same time. What is likely is routeing of broadband over 21CN will start in March, with voice in July.

All this routing happens within BT's network - the copper pair from the exchange to your house remains unchanged.

For voice calls into BT's network, the date looks to be July 2008. Check when your number changes here...

A leading ISP has told magazine PC Pro that it remains in the dark about the exact technical details of the high-speed network. More here...

21CN - Some wonder "Is it too ambitious?"

SamKnows 21CN Overview

BT 21CN technology

BT 21CN From Wikipedia

Update April 2006

The trial in Milton Keynes was deemed a success. A couple of hundred residents in Kents Hill, Bolbeck Park and Walnut Tree joined the trial in 2004. Unfortunately, success of the trial doesn't mean the trialists can continue to use the equipment.

It also appears that BT will be focusing on upgrading the exchange backbone as their 21CN deployment. The cable from exchange to home will not be touched.

The following email exchange is with 21CN:

A group member asks BT:

A friend has 512kbps broadband in Milton Keynes.
He cannot get 1Mbps.
Will 21CN help him get a faster connection? Will the exchange to home still be carried over metallic pair - so be limited still to 512kbps?
 
BT's reply:
 
Many thanks for your enquiry and we are pleased you are interested in 21CN. An industry-agreed indicative rollout plan for the UK will be in place later this year and we estimate that customer switch-over will be substantially completed by the end of the decade. 21CN is an upgrade to the core network and calls will continue to run over the copper access network.

However the good news for your friend is that you don't need to wait for 21CN to get access to higher broadband speeds. On 2 March BT announced that broadband speeds will be beefed up across the UK with the introduction of BT ADSL Max and Max Premium. For more details on these wholesale services see the press release at:

http://www.btplc.com/News/Articles/Showarticle.cfm?ArticleID=09eed77b-c628-4f06-9f16-430df2c70a38

The speeds that you will be able to get depends on your service provider's offerings on the back of these wholesale products. However you may like to look at the line checker on bt.com which will give you an indication of the maximum speeds you should be able to get on your line as broadband services are dependent on the distance of a connection from the exchange and other factors.

In addition to this BT Wholesale is conducting technical trials of ADSL2 + technology on BT employee lines in selected locations. The technical trial has proven the basic technology which should provide speeds of up to 18Mbit/s. While we are looking at ADSL2+ and VDSL technologies in relation to possible broadband services provided over 21CN we have not announced any launch plans or timescales.

We hope you find this information helpful.

Regards

21CN feedback
from www.bt.com/21CN

 
All very disappointing: I had assumed 21CN would include FTTP (Fibre To The Premises) deployment to new estates, at least sorting out our difficulties in new parts of Milton Keynes.

BT Openreach

BT have passed the responsibility of exchange to home copper cabling to BT OpenReach.

Early days - November 2004

Wednesday 17th November 2004...

  • BT 21st century network trials on track as voice calls run on IP link

    BT’s 21st century network transformation programme is set to have passed three significant milestones by the end of this week. Trials to divert the first customer calls off the public switched telephone network (PSTN) onto a dedicated internet protocol (IP) link have gone live; the first homes have been connected up in BT’s fibre to the premises trial; and the third 21CN network node is due to be commissioned tomorrow. A new IP link between the major network nodes at Cambridge and Woolwich...

Wednesday 9th June 2004...

  • BT to switch voice calls to IP as 21st century network takes shape (June 9, 2004) - From October 2004, BT will divert voice calls between these network nodes to the 21CN specific IP network. This equipment, known as multi service access nodes (MSANs), will carry voice and data services onto the core IP based network, initially for 1,000 customers by January 2005. 

    BT today also announced 21CN programme fibre to the premises trials at Martlesham Heath, Suffolk; at Kents Hill, the Bolbeck Park and Walnut Tree developments in Milton Keynes; and at the Waterfront Studios business centre, at Silvertown in London's Docklands. 

  • BT announces network transformation timetable (June 9, 2004) - BT's 21st century network (21CN) programme will create the enabling infrastructure for the growth of BT and the UK telecommunications industry. It is set to completely transform BT's networks, delivering increased customer choice and control. 

21CN News Story Links

"BT is planning to rebuild its phone network in the UK in a radical move that will cost billions." BBC News

"BT is to switch over to a single internet-based network, ending the separation of voice and data traffic and saving £1bn ($1.8bn) a year on its completion."

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