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By Paul Sandle LONDON (Reuters) – Facing a sustained attack from rivals, Britain's BT pledged to improve the speed and quality of the country's broadband network on Tuesday in a bid to ward off calls for it to be broken up. Setting out plans to improve coverage in rural areas where services can be slow, Chief Executive Gavin Patterson said the firm would provide new minimum speeds of 5-10 megabits per second (Mbps) and expand its fiber coverage. The networks division Openreach is managed at arm's length, but critics say the structure allows BT to abuse its market position and has hampered investment