The consumers eligible for the offer also include fresh customers switching to the service of BT as well as those ordering a BT digital TV, broadband and phone call package online starting from GBP 17.99 per month.

The connections speeds provided by the GBP 17.99 package from BT is up to 20Mbps. The package also offers up to 50 digital TV Freeview channels with the BT Vision + box and unlimited UK landline weekend phone calls.

THe broadband serviceof BT comes with the wireless router of BT – BT Home Hub -, a monthly data download allowance of 40GB, advanced McAfee internet security and unlimited wireless broadband minutes to use at more than a million WiFi hotspots across the UK.

Furthermore, as the unlimited UK landline weekend call plan carries no connection cost for fresh lines, a fresh customer wanting to get installed a new BT phone line will not be charged the usual BT fee of up to GBP 122.

The latest on demand television, blockbuster movies and kid shows with more than 7200 pay per view programmes are brought to the customer by BT at the touch of a button.

Incidentally, the workers body that is calling for the strike, the CWU (communication workers union) has last day started distributing papers to the staff of BT pressing them to vote over the walk-out. The main lament of the union is that BT was sporting double standards regarding pay.

The union cited the leading internet service provider’s offering the staff a 2 per cent pay hike with a bonus of GBP 250 besides the potential for another GBP 250 and then failing to meet it as the immediate cause for the strike.

However, the chief executive officer of the broadband provider, Ian Livingstone under whose leadership the firm had made over GBP 1 million in profits in the previous year, interestingly received a pay increase by GBP 850,000, besides a GBP 1.2 million bonus.

Meanwhile, the deputy general secretary of the workers’ body, Andy Kerr said that they were seeking a reasonable as well as affordable pay hike for their members in BT that have heavily contributed to the company’s success during a couple of difficult years.

On the other hand, BT that expressed its disappointment over the active circulation of the ballot for strike action, claimed that despite the fact that it has upgraded its offer severally, the union have seldom moved once from their initial claim.

To be preciser, the leading internet service provider in the UK is planning to provide a consumer-base consisting of a couple of million households and small businesses across the capital city with next generation super-fast fibre optic broadband, which is capable of offering speeds of up to even 100Mbps by 2011 spring.

The internet service provider said that it would be upgrading 114 of its exchanges with a view to offer fibre-to-the-cabinet broadband services of 40Mbps and fibre-to-the-premises broadband service of 100Mbps to 87 per cent of the population of London.

A couple of weeks ago, BT had said that it would invest GBP 1 billion additionally on top of its GBP 1.5 billion original network funding programme. This according to the ISP was to be an attempt to include two-thirds of the country’s population online through fibre broadband access by 2015.

The chief executive of BT, Ian Livingstone said that this funding would help in making sure that London was one among the world’s best connected cities, and in providing advanced copper and fibre broadband prior to the Olympic Games in 2012.

Livingstone added that the fresh broadband network would be nothing less than a lasting legacy that enables the people living as well as working in London to prosper and the economy of the country to thrive well in the future.

As a matter of fact, the chief executive of BT, Ian Livingston had announced in his 3 year vision for BT, the proposal for upscaling the company’s plans for building a fast broadband internet network across the country. The main objective is the investment of GBP 2.5 million in a programme, which could make fibre optic broadband service available to about two-thirds of British homes by 2015.

It is worth mentioning here that BT had previously promised to invest GBP 1.5 billion in rolling out fibre optic broadband internet service to 40 per cent of the homes in the United Kingdom by the year 2012.

Another segment where BT plans to invest significantly is in enhancing its television services, which would put it in a wagon to compete effectively with the likes of Virgin Media and Sky.

Livingston said while commenting on the company’s plans to invest considerably in improving its television service that TV was for the company a potential area of growth, and something that was to benefit greatly from the roll out of next generation broadband.

The enhancements form part of the WBC service (Wholesale Broadband Connect service) that is one of BT’s rollout commitments for providing 75 per cent of UK households and businesses with better services by next year Spring. This move follows the upgrade of previous 148 telephone exchanges carried out in March 2010.

Although the upgrade of exchanges seems impressive, the limited coverage besides stress on certain geographic locations more than the rest stand among its shortcomings. West Midlands, the home counties, the Liverpool Manchester belt and Northern Ireland are some of the areas that would witness most expansion work.

The main advantage of the latest upgrade works by BT is the total ADSL 2+ broadband coverage reaching almost two thirds of the UK population. However, BT has not given a confirmation on the exact time when the upgrade would take place.

The announcement was made by Emma Elshof, the broadband products general manager at BT Wholesale, at a private event that was staged in London on Monday. The event was dubbed the BT ISP Forum.