Government to review UK's broadband future

 

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By Matthew Sparkes

Posted on 22 Feb 2008 at 17:20

The government is to review the UK's broadband infrastructure, and investigate ways that future high-speed networks may be funded.

The review has been initiated by the Department of Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform (BERR), which has placed the task in the hands of Francesco Caio, the former chief executive of telecoms firm Cable & Wireless.

The new review will look at how the government can help the private sector to develop an improved broadband infrastructure, and investigate potential investment models.

"We need to prepare the way for the UK to adopt groundbreaking new technologies to ensure that we do not get left behind - competitively or technologically," says business and competitiveness minister, Shriti Vadera.

"We must not be in a situation where our creativity and growth of our businesses are stifled by inadequate communications and regulatory frameworks."

Ofcom, which is of course in charge of the regulatory framework, will not be involved in the review, raising suspicions that the much-criticised regulator has been sidelined - a charge Ofcom denies.

"The next generation of broadband is an issue of national importance that could have profound effects for citizens, consumers and the economy. Ofcom therefore welcomes the government's review. It is consistent with our own work on Next Generation Access (NGA) and addresses issues that go beyond Ofcom's remit," says an Ofcom spokesperson.

Late last year the government convened ISPs to discuss the possibility of funding high-speed fibre cabling to the home, after BT stated it couldn't justify the expense of such a network.

BT has instead focused on its 21CN network, which will use existing copper infrastructure to provide a maximum data rate of around 22Mb/sec. The government has previously stated that BT will not be forced to make large investments in fibre-optic infrastructure.