BT plans to launch ultrafast symmetric FTTP broadband

British Telecom (BT) and its owned operator Openreach will launch a new symmetric broadband product in spring next year.

The gigabyte-capable service is designed to offer users equal upload and download speeds. Openreach recently detailed its plans for rollout of the symmetric service in specific locations providing internet service providers (ISPs) with greater choice when selecting a product.

The BT-owned telecoms company is presently in the process of fitting a fibre to the premises (FTTP) network across the United Kingdom. To date, it has passed a grand total of 15 million premises. The nation has around 32.5 million premises, and the telecoms specialist aims to reach at least 30 million of them by the year 2030.

Customers within reach of Openreach’s current network can already access a broadband connection that offers maximum download speeds of 1.8 gigabytes per second and 120 megabytes per second uploads.

However, for the first time, the telecoms company is now touting the possibility of an all-new symmetric 1 gigabyte per second speed tier, which has the potential to provide identical upload and download speeds.

Recently, Openreach confirmed that such an ultrafast symmetrical broadband service can rapidly accelerate the upload process of larger files, like software, graphics and video content. It stated that this can be especially beneficial for content creators. However, it can also decrease latency issues and supply a more responsive and streamlined experience for users online.

Improved data access and uploads also improves the use of cloud-based apps and services.