[Source: BT via Nildram Broadband Team sent to Nick 17th June 2003]

Originally we had planned to introduce extended reach at the end of June, but we now plan to expand the trial for up to three months. To ensure the best possible service for our customers and to confirm that early life issues are minimal, we will increase the pilot to include external volunteers.

The extended trial will enable:

-- A wider geographical spread to be included in the trial

-- A greater variety of modems will be used, which may highlight any  incompatibility

-- All types of equipment within the exchanges to be tested

-- Customer feedback from Service Providers

-- A greater understanding of actual impact on early-life service issues

The trial will give all our service providers the opportunity to place new orders for lines between 55dB and 60dB and it will cover all the exchanges which are enabled for ADSL. As each order will be handled on an exceptional basis the availability checker will not be globally updated until the pilot is completed. The pilot is planned to begin on 9th July and last until October, but could be shortened depending on the amount of data collected in the early stages of the trial. Please note that up to a maximum of 1,000 lines will be accepted in this way and will be allocated on a first come first served basis.

If you would like to be included in the trial, you can contact you chosen service provider from 9 July 2003 and specify that you would like to join BT Wholesale's extended reach pilot. Inclusion is subject to further testing of your line and costs will depend on your chosen provider. Please note that service providers can only put forward volunteers from the start of the trial, so it is best to contact them after 9 July.

Unfortunately we cannot test any other lines, apart from those included in the trial, to determine whether they will be within the required 60db limit. We will of course keep you updated on any further progress and inform you of the commercial launch date as soon as possible.

We are also continuing to investigate technologies that will serve as a solution for customers who will remain out of reach in spite of the upcoming extension. Any developments with regards to these alternative broadband products will be published at www.bt.com/broadband Updates.

[Source: BT Wholesale, Broadband Deployment Team sent to Mike 13th June 2003]

September 9, 2003

Reach extended within enabled exchange areas

BT also announced today that, following successful trials, the reach of broadband in enabled exchange areas would be extended to homes within approximately 6km line length of the exchange, subject to line test. This move, extending the previous limit of approximately 5.5km line length, increases the proportion of people who can receive broadband in enabled areas from approximately 94 per cent to 97 per cent.

Paul Reynolds, BT Wholesale chief executive, said: "Following trials involving a range of service providers and more than 1000 broadband users we are confident we can extend the reach of broadband and maintain quality of service for users. When this development is introduced on September 24 it will bring another 600,000 homes and businesses within reach of broadband "

The new extended limit for broadband is based on 60dB of signal loss on the line (typical line length about 6km) The previous limit, 55dB, equates to approximately 5.5km line length.

[Source http://www.btplc.com/Mediacentre/Archivenewsreleases/2003/NR0339.htm]