Budget confirms broadband commitment
22nd April 2009
This morning the Community Broadband Network came to Birmingham today with its roadshow to highlight the need for the UK to get to grips with the next generation of broadband access. We’re talking about a network where 100 megabits per second is the norm with the potential to deliver 1 gigabits per second (which will be the universal service obligation in South Korea by 2012 – yes, that’s what they’ll get as a minimum).
So I suspect delegates there may not have greeted with much enthusiasm the news in the Budget that the government has confirmed its commitment to just 2 megabits per second access for all. However, that’s not to say it’s ignoring the issue of next generation networks. Alastair Darling also announced funding for Yorkshire’s Digital Region project and there may be something in the £750m strategic investment fund for digital industries to get stuck into.Intriguingly, tucked away at the bottom of the BERR press release about the announcement is a glimpse of some of the thinking of the group that will advise on how exactly that universal access is delivered:
“The Government has consulted a design group made up of network experts on the best and most cost-effective ways of delivering a universal service via a range of solutions, including wired and mobile networks. Their conclusions [....] suggest that for at least some groups of currently underserved users a leap-frog to next generation superfast broadband may be the most economical solution.”
How this transpires will no doubt be detailed in the final draft of the Digital Britain report which we await with baited breath.
(pic: crown copyright)
It is disappointing but I suppose it is better than no committment or only a partial committment. It isn’t that long since virtually everyone was relying on dial-up anyway.
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