Broadband News
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Broadband investment too low in UK, expert warns
09 Nov 2010 | 10.22 Europe/London
The £530m the British Government is investing in to broadband for rural areas is nowhere near enough to meet the Universal Service Commitment of 2Mb for all by the end of the current session of parliament.
The delay from a firm date of 2012, under the previous Labour administration, to a commitment that could be as late as 2015, under the coalition Government, is believed to have been announced to buy the authorities more time.
However, a leading expert in broadband points out that this will not be enough. In fact, Tim Johnson, Chief Analyst at broadband researchers, Point Topic, points out that this is only the equivalent, in total, to what the French Government is spending every year up until 2025 to bring in less ambitious plans.
According to Johnson the French are spending £570m each year from now until 2025 to give a 2Mb service to every French household over a longer time scale than that announced by the UK’s delayed 2015 deadline.
The delay from a firm date of 2012, under the previous Labour administration, to a commitment that could be as late as 2015, under the coalition Government, is believed to have been announced to buy the authorities more time.
However, a leading expert in broadband points out that this will not be enough. In fact, Tim Johnson, Chief Analyst at broadband researchers, Point Topic, points out that this is only the equivalent, in total, to what the French Government is spending every year up until 2025 to bring in less ambitious plans.
According to Johnson the French are spending £570m each year from now until 2025 to give a 2Mb service to every French household over a longer time scale than that announced by the UK’s delayed 2015 deadline.