UK passes high-speed broadband milestone
The UK has passed its high-speed broadband milestone, reaching two million subscribers in July, according to Point Topic.
Around 10% of UK fixed-line broadband connections are now ‘super-fast’ – 25Mbps.
The UK now has 21.3 million fixed broadband lines, with super-fast lines up 600,000. Virgin Media was responsible for most of the super-fast take-up, with BT adding 150,000 high-speed customers, according to Digital TV Europe.net.
However, a recent report from the House of Lords Select Committee criticised the government’s focus on speed, rather than coverage, which it says is adding to the digital divide problem.
The report suggests that the UK move all its TV services online and take broadcast TV off air to make room for mobile broadband.
“It’s a great idea – really great. But if we can’t get decent internet connections to the whole country now then it would seem insane to suggest that the network should be used for something as basic as TV,” the Broadband World Forum blog said.
Meanwhile, Steve Smith, head of thought leadership for Starcom MediaVest London, commented: “The Committee suggests that the strongest driver of people moving from basic to superfast broadband will be people wanting to access on-demand television.
“Instead, the committee argues that the government should ensure that every home is eventually connected to the internet by fibre. Although BT has been rolling out fibre, with 11 million homes now connected, the committee highlights that BT is only installing fibre to street cabinets, with old and weather-sensitive copper wires carrying the signal to the doorstep.
“The committee’s recommendation about preparing for all television to be broadcast via the internet is especially pertinent given a growing number of households are just as likely to watch TV via a broadband connection as they are to watch it via an aerial or satellite dish.
“Recent figures from Ofcom show that the number of UK adults with home internet who catch up with TV via the internet at least once a week has climbed from 23% of all adults in 2008, to 37% in 2012. This is highest among 16-24s, 48% of who do this.
“The choice of on-demand entertainment is set to grow. Sky, BT, Virgin Media and, as of last week, TalkTalk all now retail internet TV services bundled with a broadband connection. Ofcom data shows that average total of VoD views per month to Virgin Media homes has nearly tripled in four years, climbing from 33 million in 2008, to 90 million in 2012.”