BT plans to double FTTC fibre broadband speeds

BT has outlined plans to significantly increase the speed of its standard fibre optic broadband product in 2012.

The telecoms giant's fibre-to-the-cabinet service currently offers maximum download capabilities of 40Mbps, but this figure is set to double to up to 80Mbps next year.

Additional future changes are expected to further boost speeds to over 100Mbps.

Improvements are also planned for BT's fibre-to-the-home (FTTH) coverage, with the organisation set to bring the technology to more homes and businesses.

FTTH already enables users to download files at rates of up to 100Mbps.

As well as this, BT is aiming to trial a 1Gbps service at some point in 2012 - a feat that has already been accomplished by Virgin Media, its biggest rival in the fibre broadband market.

Virgin has begun testing speeds of up to 1.5Gbps in partnership with four companies located in the vicinity of London's Old Street.

According to the firm, the 1.5Gbps service is the world's fastest cable broadband connection.