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Speed is the key to UK broadband future

Government investment in broadband is needed to prevent the country falling even further behind in the global stakes, according to one expert.

Victor Keegan, writing in the Guardian, says the government must invest in bringing super fast fibre optic broadband to every home in the country if Britain is to have any hope of becoming a world leader in broadband.

This is in contrast to recent reports, including one this week by Ofcom, which have repeatedly stated that the money needed to expand the UK's network of fibre optic cables should come from the private sector. The government itself has said that no public money will be spent on improving the broadband infrastructure.

"It would be a foolhardy government that decided not to intervene, especially if the oncoming recession proves so deep that broadband providers start cutting back," Keegan says, adding that the government "may find that it needs to... invest in superfast broadband during a recession in the knowledge that it will give Britain a competitive advantage afterwards."

This is in line with the belief that any seeds sewn now will be reaped immeasurably in years to come, when superfast broadband becomes a national economic necessity.

Meanwhile, Sean Poulter of the Daily Mail points out that were the full £29bn - that's the figure placed on the cost of bringing high speed broadband to every home by the Broadband Stakeholders Group - investment made, the resulting fibre optic infrastructure could negate the need for our current telephone system and make Britain global leaders in broadband for the first time.

23/09/2008
Author: CompareBroadbandUK staff writer

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