EU sees broadband role in economic recovery
The European Commission’s recently announced Recovery Plan includes a €5 billion injection of unspent EU funds “to improve energy interconnections and broadband infrastructure”.
A little more detail is available in the FAQ where it is stated that “The strategy will be supported by public funds in order to provide broadband access to under-served and high cost areas where the market cannot deliver. The aim should be to reach 100% coverage of high speed internet by 2010.
In addition, Member States should promote competitive investments in fibre networks and endorse the Commission’s proposals to free up spectrum for wireless broadband.”
Ministers will be asked to approve the plan at a meeting of the European Council on 11-12 December, after that each member state will have to implement its own plans and presumably apply for part of the EU fund.
England would perhaps benefit from a Notspot identification and rectification scheme along the lines of the Scottish initiatives, in order to “to reach 100% coverage of high speed internet by 2010″. Progress in that direction would be easier if there were robust solutions available for funders to support, for example if BT had a “Cabinet Activate” product to deliver kerbside electronics and backhaul to feed ADSL into Notspot areas remote from exchanges. Another approach might be 2-way satellite connections, providing that market can be stabilised and subsidised so that the providers are able to provide a service costing the end user £30/month or less without the risk of the provider going bust every 12 months.
Tags: Credit Crunch, EU
