Broadband Britain delayed by up to three years

Posted on 19 Jul 2010 at 11:15

Both the previous administration and the current government had pledged universal 2Mbit/s broadband coverage by 2012. But late last week the Culture Secretary Jeremy Hunt stated that this date was unrealistic given the amount of funding, and that a new target of "within the lifetime of this Parliament" had been set.

This is highly disappointing, especially given all the talk about super-fast broadband services in the run up to the election. The fiscal realities have now taken centre stage. Steve Robertson, chief executive of BT Openreach, told the BBC that the goal could not be achieved without around £2bn in public funding.

We feel that universal broadband would not only be an excellent economic stimulus for the country as a whole, but would also allow those in more remote areas to work from home, reducing travel expenses and their accompanying environmental footprint.

The government is looking to businesses (like BT) to come up with, and fund, solutions to UK's broadband problems. However, these companies seem more fixated on ultra-high speed services for metropolitan areas, rather than extension of basic provision across the country.

Author: Seth Barton

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