BT is to begin trials of a high-speed SDSL (Symmetric Digital Subscriber Line) service next month, ahead of a planned full roll-out from the middle of next year.

The pilot - which will test two SDSL products giving speeds of up to 2Mbit/s both upstream and downstream over a copper line - should be a hit with companies keen to try out videoconferencing and teleworking.

Anyhow, BT Wholesale is looking for up to 20 ISPs to take part in the six month trial.

Initially, the service will be available at 20 exchanges in London, but from December a further 30 exchanges in areas including Manchester and Yorkshire should also be able to provide SDSL.

In June BT announced it would be working with broadband service provider, Bulldog (a vocal critic of BT in the past incidentally) to run an SDSL broadband trial in London from late autumn.

Easynet - one of the few operators still engaged in local loop unbundling - is already offering SDSL services. ®

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