London residents try to stall fibre optic rollout

BT has denied claims that its rollout of fibre-optic cables has ground to a halt in north London because of complaints from residents, insisting that the deployment remains 100 percent on track.

A report in The Times said that BT's plans to upgrade its network to enable super-fast broadband had been halted by residents of Muswell Hill, who successfully convinced their local council that the junction boxes are unsightly and block pavements for pedestrians.

John Crompton, chairman of the Muswell Hill and Fortis Green Residents' Association, is reported as saying: "These cabinets are unsightly and are taller than most garden walls. It's counter-intuitive. Technology is meant to be getting smaller."

But BT hiclaims the pilot has not been halted.

"The majority of cabinets have been successfully installed in Muswell Hill and customers are already enjoying super fast broadband," said a spokeswoman.

"There is an issue with a small number of cabinets in a conservation area, and BT Openreach is in dialogue with the council on a solution."

The spokeswoman also noted that the current problems in Muswell Hill would not affect BT's deployment plans for fibre-to-the-cabinet rollouts.