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Government promises "super-fast broadband" for all

Posted on 22 Mar 2010 at 07:54

The Prime Minister has promised to deliver "super-fast broadband" to the entire country by 2020.

The Government had already committed to bringing next-generation broadband to the vast majority of the country by 2017, using the 50p landline tax that was introduced in the Digital Economy Bill. It now appears the Government will spend three years mopping up the 10% or so of the country that won't be connected by 2017.

It's not clear exactly what speed Mr Brown's "super-fast broadband" will actually achieve, but the Prime Minister promised the network will reach "100% of homes" by 2020.

The Conservatives have pledged to deliver 100Mbits/sec broadband by 2017 by relying on private investment, but the Prime Minister claims that will create a digital divide.

Faster broadband speeds will bring new, cheaper, more personalised and more effective public services to people

"We can allow the market to provide a solution on its own terms and according to its own timetable," said the Prime Minister. "The result would be super-fast broadband coverage determined not by need or by social justice, but by profitability.

"The alternative is our vision: ensuring, not simply hoping for, universal coverage."

Mr Brown also hopes that widespread broadband coverage will lead to cost savings of £11 billion across Government. "Faster broadband speeds will bring new, cheaper, more personalised and more effective public services to people," he said.

The Government has given Sir Tim Berners-Lee a £30m budget for an Institute of Web Science, which will aim to make Government data more readily available online.

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User comments

An Empty Promise

Without putting a number on what "super-fast broadband" means any promise is utterly meaningless. The worry is that Gordon Brown thinks 2Mbps is super-fast.
And if the government can save £11 billion -why not put some of that money inot infrastructure investment. The 50p landline tax will only raise £500 million a year.

By milliganp on 22 Mar 2010

I consider fast to be above 8Mb/s. If someone said they had a fast line then that is what I'd expect. If someone said they had a super-fast line I'd expect something above 20Mb/s. I get the feeling Brown thinks 1Mb/s is average and 2 or 4 is super-fast.

By TimoGunt on 22 Mar 2010

BBC definition

In an article on the BBC new website it states
"Superfast broadband is generally regarded as speeds of 50Mbps (megabits per second) or above, but recent research suggests the majority of UK users currently get between 3Mbps and 4.5Mbps"

If 50Mbps+ is the plan then that would be transformative.

By milliganp on 22 Mar 2010

It's piffle, as usual. The Government is deliberately not saying what super-fast broadband means, so that whatever speed they manage to establish as a national average they can declare to be 'superfast' and therefore they can claim the 'promise' has been fulfilled.

We all know how the Government changes definitions to suit itself. Remember how the Tories cleaned up the UK's beaches, a huge percentage of which were declared unfit for bathing by the EU? They reclassified half of them as 'shoreline recreational areas' or some such blurg. Overnight the percentage of beaches fir for bathing tripled! A triumph of PR over action. And this is another one of those.

By Noghar on 22 Mar 2010

Think in 'British' terms...

....and if you think in a British Government way then 'Superfast' probably means around 2Mb. 'Superfast' is already available if you go with Virgin.

By everton2004 on 22 Mar 2010

Rofl ahhh more government rhetoric, super-fast broadband to Brown is probably 4Mbps. Always gives me a chuckle when they come out with this stuff.

*sigh*

By PCmaster1000 on 22 Mar 2010

30 Million for an Institute of Web Science?
There is nothing like throwing other people's money at a percieved problem is there.

By Ex_Sailor on 22 Mar 2010

Labour are still gonna be in power in 2017?
We are sooooooo screwed

By TiredGeek on 22 Mar 2010

think yourself lucky... i am still stuck on isdn out here in the sticks... BT man came to test for adsl the other week and he said that he will try again in 2 years .... 11 km from the nearest exchange (cry) 64kb for me it is then for the next 2 years at least

By nickcoaten on 25 Mar 2010

Josev

this is the most highly amusing pile of doo doo i have come across yet, has nobody heard of Singapore One? the average broadband speed there is 150Mbs, and they are actually rolling out....1000Mbs, and 20Mbs is supposed to be Superfast ?, come on people, wake up and demand what is our right, Superfast is supposed to be just that.....i can sneeze faster that what we are being placated with in this country.

By Josev on 7 Apr 2010

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