A new report claims that the UK’s current and planned broadband infrastructure may not meet the future needs of the most intensive users and could harm the UK’s competitiveness.
The report from the Broadband Stakeholder Group (BSG) says that the UK could be left behind as several key competitor nations are in the process of deploying networks that are capable of delivering much higher access speeds than are currently available in the UK.
It adds that at the moment there is little prospect of widespread deployment of next generation broadband in the UK, with operators having difficulty justifying the large investments needed for high-speed networks.
The BSG report calls on the government to establish a target to ensure that by 2012 the UK remains in the upper quartile of OECD nations in terms of the quality and reach of broadband services in the UK.
In March, the online market research firm eMarketer said the UK now boasts the fifth-largest broadband population in the world.
According to eMarketer, in 2006 the UK had 12 million broadband households, ranking ahead of Germany with 11.8 million and France with 11.2 million (see Britain Becoming Major Online Economy).
The SMG report also recommends that Ofcom sets out the principles of its regulatory approach to next generation access within the next twelve months, so that the right balance between investment incentives and competition for next generation broadband can be achieved.
At the start of the month, Ofcom’s Digital Progress Report revealed that 50% of all UK adults lived in broadband households in the fourth quarter of 2006, seven times the penetration level in 2002 (see Half Of UK Adults Live In Broadband Households).
Kip Meek, BSG chairman, said: “Broadband is key to the UK economy and has a critical impact on many people’s daily lives. We have a limited window of opportunity: if steps are not taken now to prepare for next generation broadband, then we may find ourselves in a position where it is too late to catch up.
“This is not special pleading on the behalf of broadband providers, but a call to policy makers and regulators, as well as to the commercial participants in the industry to put significant effort into understanding the dynamics of the market.
“Failure to act on the issue of next generation broadband will be to the detriment of both our economy and our society.”
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