Minister drops fresh hint about Government fibre money

 

Gallery

By Barry Collins

Posted on 15 Jan 2009 at 10:15

Communications Minister Stephen Carter has once again hinted that the Government is considering public investment in a fibre broadband network.

The Prime Minister suggested earlier this month that the "digital infrastructure" could form part of his plans for stimulating the economy.

Now Carter says the worsening credit crunch has prompted other countries to pump public money into next-generation broadband. "It is clear that there are many other countries in the world taking a completely different view of the role of infrastructure as an essential part of an economy and the role of government in the provision of that infrastructure," he told the Westminster eForum, according to a report in The Guardian.

Carter is due to publish his provisional vision for Digital Britain early next month, but any proposal for public investment in broadband would represent a huge U-turn for Carter and his acolytes.

The Government-commissioned review into next-generation access conducted by Francesco Caio concluded that the case for public money was "weak at best".

Kip Meek, the chairman of the Broadband Stakeholder Group and former member of Carter's Ofcom board, has written off public investment. "Even prior to the credit crunch, the notion that Government finances could sort out this issue looked fanciful," Meek said in a November speech.

However, the Government's hand may be forced by a lack of private investment, with BT shareholders wary of committing to its relatively modest investment in fibre in the current economic climate.

Is the old boys' club choking Britain's broadband? Read our investigation in this month's PC Pro, on sale now