BT STRENGTHENS CROSS BORDER AND INTERNATIONAL LINKS WITH LATEST NETWORK INVESTMENT

- Increased competition to benefit businesses as BT directly connects its North, South and international networks

BT today revealed the next phase of its investment in the rollout of its next generation network. The company will extend its network capability on the island by directly linking Letterkenny, Londonderry, Belfast and Dublin and also connecting with over 1,270 cities worldwide through BT's extensive global network.

The latest development from BT will address the limited choice of high capacity communications networks, particularly in the North West. By enhancing its infrastructure BT will bring higher bandwidth, competitive pricing, and next generation services to businesses in these locations.

Another key benefit to businesses is the reliability of this next generation network. BT is utilising two links between each location to ensure that there is both a primary network and secondary back up network to guarantee 99.99 percent reliability. The infrastructure is also future-proofed to allow BT to expand the network when required to support the growing demand for broadband services.

Chris Clark, CEO, BT said, 'As we all navigate our way through challenging economic times we need to seize any opportunities that will give us a competitive edge. Our strategy is straightforward – the development of a world class next generation network will help all of us to seek out future growth opportunities whether through access to new markets, attracting foreign direct investment, or driving productivity and efficiency in our organisations.'

The fibre optic network, which is operational from August of this year, will extend from Dublin to Letterkenny connecting Belfast and Derry along the route through Points of Presence (PoPs).* Initial speeds of up to 10 Gigabytes per second are available but can be scaled up where required by customers.