90% of UK "to have 32Mb/sec broadband by 2019"

 

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By Stuart Turton

Posted on 25 Feb 2009 at 17:08

A new report claims that around 90% of UK homes will have access to 32Mb/sec broadband connections in ten years' time.

The claim comes from research firm Point Topic which has released a report charting the evolution of internet access in the UK over the past ten years.

The report praises the Universal Service Commitment for broadband mandated by Lord Carter in the recent Digital Britain report, claiming it could drive broadband to areas that might miss out.

"Some people say this is too little too late, but we believe that investing to deliver 2Mb/sec could provide the platform for much higher-speed broadband services in areas where it wouldn't otherwise happen for many years," says Tim Johnson, chief analyst at Point Topic.

One of these areas is Scotland, where almost a third of people are currently incapable of receiving a 2Mb/sec connection. Wales would also benefit with around a quarter of its residents beyond the reach of 2Mb/sec broadband.

However, the real benefit of the USC, according to Johnson, is that it would prompt providers to start laying fibre-to-the-cabinet, providing the bedrock for faster connection speeds in the future.

"Bandwidth seems to be increasing in the same way as computer power," he says. "According to Moore's Law, computer processors double in speed every 18 months - bandwidth has been increasing even faster than that.

"Under these conditions we expect the combination of cable and fibre connections to dominate in the future. If the USC and other announced investment plans are carried forward there will be over one million fibre lines in the UK by 2012," he concludes.