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Demand for ADSL forces reluctant BT to bring wireless option to more users

You could be forgiven for not having heard about it, but this "re-assessment of demand" which is suddenly making it possible for BT to increase the number of phone exchanges supporting broadband includes quite a good offer on home wireless networking, too.

Since we first revealed that BT Openworld is actually selling WiFi to ADSL users, BT has been "reviewing its marketing plans." Essentially, this involves doing nothing so far.

Even so, the fact that the BT Web site does point to its Globaldirect offer has attracted a steady stream of customers recommending the deal to to others, with sales rising by 20% month on month, say product managers.

Twenty per cent growth - monthly- sounds healthy; but the first month was January, and only a couple of dozen boxes were sold. Total sales still number in the hundreds, rather than the thousands.

The deal gives you a Linksys wireless access point for £138.72 ex VAT which isn't a bad price, and adapters for desktop machines cost £73.19 ex VAT, while notebook PC Cards cost the same.

Conversations with marketing staff inside BTOW don't shed much light on what is going on - or rather, not going on.

It's only weeks since BT officials were publicly stating that ADSL was a flop, that there was no demand, and that there was no point in spending good money increasing the number of exchanges which were equipped to do broadband.

It's not too easy to accept that interpretation; BT now admits that it's getting 10,000 orders a week for broadband. Evidently, they hoped for far more! - but the problem always was a perception of price being too high; and since prices have been cut by the newly-independent Ignite wholesaler, consumers have responded.

Now, BT is "bringing broadband services to 100 more exchanges in the UK following a reassessment of demand in all exchanges" - based on the new costs and wholesale prices that were announced by the company last month.

Interpret this how you will; the Mobile Campaign analysis is that internal bureaucracy games are still confusing officials, who aren't sure whether they are an aggressive, thrusting retail outfit, or locked in a cage of over-regulation, or trying to present a case for more subsidy.

Whether there are any plans at all to boost WLAN sales, will have to wait till later today; this morning, all good and dutiful BT executives are glued to their internal networks, attending a virtual presentation by the new chief executive, Ben Verwaayen.

The good news is that the 100 extra exchanges will bring ADSL services nearly 70% of the UK population, "a total of 16 million households, by the end of May," according to the official estimates.

Paul Reynolds, chief executive of BT Wholesale, said that BT was also aware of problems of existing users who see slow throughput, and would be increasing the bandwidth of existing exchanges: "We are also adding extra capacity in the current 1,010 ADSL enabled exchanges to meet the significant increase in demand that resulted from the price reductions made by service providers as they passed on our wholesale cuts." And he added: "We will continue to look at the viability of more exchanges as we identify sufficient demand, and expect to make further announcements in the summer."

Currently BT is reviewing about 500 exchanges which might next be upgraded.

Full text of BT's announcement can be found here.