BT to push ahead with broadband roll out

Despite it facing financial difficulties, British Telecom (BT) has announced that it plans to push ahead with broadband fibre roll-out plans.

The telecoms giant previously unveiled a mission to provide broadband of up to 40Mbps to ten million households by 2012.

However, around £1.5 billion has recently been wiped from BT's share value, alongside £340 million being paid out from the BT Global business division following a review of contracts.

This has prompted fears that the £1.5 billion fibre-to-the-cabinet (FTTC) roll-out programme would be affected.

Speaking at the World Economic Forum annual meeting, BT chief executive Ian Livingstone told Reuters that he didn't think BT's financial position would hinder the investment.

"We still have strong plans to invest in fibre in the UK and also, actually, to still expand our global presence," he added.

Despite this, the operator has also hinted that it will require favourable regulatory conditions in Lord Carter's upcoming Digital Britain report to play its part in universal service provision.