BT unveils 80Mbps fibre broadband pilot plans

The trial of BT's up to 80Mbps fibre optic broadband service will enter the pilot stage in early February 2012, the telecoms giant has announced.

On February 6th, people involved in the trial will be able to make greater use of the enhanced fibre-to-the-cabinet (FTTC) product, which offers download speeds of up to 80Mbps and maximum upload capabilities of 20Mbps.

The move comes as BT gets closer to the full commercial launch of its new up to 80Mbps fibre broadband service, which will be available in areas covered by its current FTTC network.

Next year, the company is also planning to boost the maximum download speed offered by its fibre-to-the-home service from 100Mbps to 300Mbps.

BT launched its up to 100Mbps proposition in November, equalling the current top tier package from Virgin Media.

"We now have three versions of BT Infinity offering high speeds that allow families to do more online at the same time," said John Petter, managing director of BT's consumer division.