THE BroadbandAlton campaign has finally been made aware of the exact size of its task, after BT finally announced the pre-registration trigger threshold that will bring Broadband internet services into the Alton area.

It was announced on the BT website on Saturday August 24, that the trigger level for Alton is to be 350.

The BroadbandAlton pressure group was launched at the start of June, after BT announced that broadband ADSL (Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Line) services would not be installed in Alton.

Although towns as close as Bordon, Farnham and Petersfield are equipped with the new service, the exchange serving Alton was not going to be equipped with ADSL technology, as internet traffic tests carried out by BT at the Alton exchange indicated an apparent lack of demand.

Due to the resulting outcry, BT said that if sufficient genuine demand in a specific area could be proved, then the exchange serving that area would be equipped with the appropriate ADSL technology. BroadbandAlton has since been per­suading local people to sign its online petition, and also to pre-register their interest in Broadband services with BT, through their ISP (Internet Service Provider).

Until now, the trigger level has remained a keenly-awaited mystery, but BT's recent announcement means that BroadbandAlton now knows exactly what it is working towards, and how close it is to its final goal.

The announcement means that 350 premises must pre-register for Broadband services, and once these pre-registrations have been received, the ISPs will have 42 days to convert these registrations into actual purchases.

BT press spokesman Jason Mann, said: "We launched the pre-registration scheme in July, which has given people the opportunity to have a direct influence on our rollout programme.

"The Alton threshold was announced with 168 others, and we have so far announced 595 trigger levels in all.

"We are now looking forward to reaching our first trigger levels in places where demand is proved.

"With regard to BroadbandAlton, we welcome any initiative that raises aware­ness about the benefits of Broadband services."

Peter Garner, one of the founders of the BroadbandAlton campaign, said: "We are pleased that the trigger level has finally been announced, and we find the figure of 350 to be fairly acceptable.

"We would've obviously preferred a figure in the 200 region, but I personally think that the reason the figure is higher than we expected is that it will cost BT a lot of money to install the technology at the Alton exchange.

"Having said that, some places have been given trigger levels of 650, so we have been quite lucky.

"The news shouldn't really change anything as regards the campaign itself.

"I have written to the main representatives of the business community in Alton, informing them of the situation. I believe that they will have to get more businesses to come forward and register, thus helping the campaign to succeed.

"We currently have commitments from 145 people on the BT pre-registration website, so we are well on the way.

"We would still urge all those who genuinely want ADSL Broadband services to register with an ISP as soon as possible."