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Would you need 100Mb?
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Government review is against state-funded fibre broadband
Garnet Roach garnet@consumerchoices.co.uk
A Government review into the need for a generation fibre broadband network is expected to advise ministers against major public investment, it has been revealed (05-09-08).
Francesco Caio, the inquiry’s head, has said that such a decision would not damage the UK’s competitiveness.
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"You might run the risk of putting £15 billion into the ground"
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“What is emerging is that the UK is still one of the most dynamic markets across Europe,” he told Television, the monthly magazine for the Royal Television Society.
“I would hesitate to advise any government and say, ‘actually this is so important, so vital for the future of citizens, businesses and the media, forget it: let’s go back to a more constrained market dynamics and put fibre everywhere’,” he said, adding that despite having an average advertised broadband speed of only 8Mb - compared to speeds of up to 100Mb offered by fibre connections - the UK still has the highest expenditure on e-transactions in Europe.
Caio, who is heading up the review for the Department of Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform that will be presented to ministers, including chancellor Alistair Darling, this autumn, said that other technologies should also be considered. “There are other technologies, wireless for one, that will increasingly deliver alternatives. You might run the risk of putting £15 billion into the ground,” he said.
And despite previous claims that the UK could lose out if it doesn’t invest an estimated £15 billion in a new fibre network, Caio said: “Although some other European countries are beginning to deploy next-generation access, I don’t think we are in a position to say the UK is falling behind.
“The infrastructure seems to be fit for serving the needs that we have and there are early signs of competitors beginning to plan ahead to deploy next-generation access. I can't see any reasons to be particularly concerned about a material gap in competitiveness.”
Michael Phillips, BroadbandChoices.co.uk product director, said: “Research that we carried out last year showed that although consumers did have an interest in downloading DVD-quality movies and high-definition television programmes, only 30 per cent were willing to pay more for such services.
“Any next-generation broadband packages are going to have a price tag to match their speeds and Caio is right to question the real need - and demand - for speeds of up to 100Mb.
“But having said that, the main reason for dissatisfaction among broadband users is poor speed - and with the UK’s average speed dragging at less than 4Mb, this is definitey an issue that needs addressing.”
Related article - Boost your broadband speed.
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