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BT's giant new faster broadband boxes blocked

BT has been forced to put the brakes on an ongoing pilot of faster broadband technology in north London because of protests from local residents, who say its new roadside cabinets are too big and ugly.

Haringey Council has blocked BT from installing any further equipment on the leafy streets of Muswell Hill until it rethinks the new network of 1.8 metre-tall cabinets.

Muswell Hill is the first urban area in the country to benefit from BT's £1.5bn commitment to replace the copper wiring that typically connects local exchanges to roadside cabinets with fibre optics. The new technology offers downstream broadband speeds of up to 40Mbit/s.

BT said most of the trial equipment had been installed successfully and was up and running, but it had met opposition from residents in a conservation area.

Mike Snowdon, a spokesman for Haringey Council, said: "There were objections from a number of people and organisations, including the Conservation Area Advisory Committee.

"Officers have already met BT and their agents, following the refusal of the applications, and will be meeting them again to discuss possible alternative sitings for some of the installations, to see if there is a way forward."

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