2010 is set to be a good year for businesses around Wales after news that BT is planning to roll out two high-speed broadband technologies across the country emerged. BT Business MD Nigel Stagg said that the availability of ADSL connections capable of up to 24Mbps download speeds should become widespread next year and added that the 40Mbps fibre optic connections that BT is installing as part of its 21st Century Network upgrades are also going to benefit business users.

24Mbps ADSL connections are already available in Bangor and Caernarfon and Mr Stagg indicated that business customers in other towns such as Wrexam should also be eligible for a faster connection for their enterprises.

The most important of the new broadband technologies that BT has promised to offer Welsh business customers is fibre optic connectivity. BT is using Fibre-To-The-Cabinet (FTTC), which will allow customers to continue to use their existing copper land line telephone connections to provide the last mile of connectivity whilst the rest of the work is performed by a fibre optic network.

In the first instance, business broadband customers in Wales should expect download speeds of up to 40Mbps and upload speeds of 2-15Mbps if they sign up for a fibre optic broadband package from BT. The download speeds are set to increase as time passes, with a target of up to 60Mbps for FTTC customers in the near future.

In the first half of 2010 BT plans to roll out FTTC at 100 different telephone exchanges around the UK, with a small proportion allocated to Wales.

Simple Broadband`s Communications Manager Simon Gerrard commented that BT’s plans to improve the availability of high-speed broadband for businesses everywhere was “an exciting prospect and one that should significantly drive recovery and growth over the next decade.”