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Government tells ISPs to sort out super-fast broadband

By Barry Collins

Posted on 15 Jul 2010 at 07:43

The Government will today thrust the onus of providing nationwide super-fast broadband onto Britain's ISPs.

Speaking at a broadband summit in London, Culture Minister Jeremy Hunt will tell ISPs they need to find innovative solutions to bring high-speed broadband to the 'final third' of the country.

"I will bring together the key industry players who can help deliver this," Hunt told the BBC. "I now need them to work together on solutions and tell us what we can do to help make this ambition a reality."

Today not having broadband makes people feel deprived

That Government help is unlikely to be provided in the form of hard cash, however. The coalition Government scrapped Labour's plans to pay for nationwide super-fast broadband with a landline levy, that would have seen a 50p-a-month charge added to telephone bills.

But with the Government coffers almost empty, Hunt is unlikely to offer the industry substantial funds to encourage fibre broadband rollouts in Britain's most rural areas.

This could create a tense stand-off with leading ISPs, with BT today warning that up to £2 billion of public money would be necessary to deliver nationwide fibre broadband.

"As a society we need to make our minds up about what is an essential element of our social fabric," BT Openreach CEO, Steve Robertson, told the BBC. "Today not having broadband makes people feel deprived."

BT has promised to reach two thirds of the country with its fibre broadband rollout, but claims there's no economic case for reaching the final third using private investment alone.

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User comments

jeremy hunt is a clown

that's it

By gavmeister on 15 Jul 2010

focus on the consumer

If BT and Virgin stopped trying to cover the same areas and actually worked on getting to new people we would be in a better place.
So there's your target Mr. Hunt

By kurtnielsen on 15 Jul 2010

Super-fast broadband?

I suppose "not particularly fast broadband" doesn't have the same ring, although it is more accurate...

By JohnGray7581 on 15 Jul 2010

Its all in the ground

Get all the 1/3 of people to all dig a trench from there homes to the main roads.

That time consuming job would dramatically speed up the deployment of fiber.

Time to get some community spirit

By hadphild on 15 Jul 2010

"Today not having broadband makes people feel deprived."

Oh no you poor souls. what with plentiful food, water on tap and a constant electricity feed how will you survive?

By SimonCorlett on 15 Jul 2010

@SimonCorlett

If I recall correctly, a sense of Relative poverty is one of the strongest contributors to social discontent. Regardless of Acutal levels of affluence.

Just like giving one of your two childen a new car, and the other an old banger.

And in this case, it has been argued by many, failure to provide FTTC, etc, will be cause increased Economic segregation as well as Social segregation.

Ans if you think the Government's place is Not to address those two issue, exactly in what way Are they representing the people?

By matbailie on 15 Jul 2010

@ kurtnielsen

Just out of interest, in which areas are Virgin Media rolling out super fast broadband already serviced by super fast BT?

By chapelgarth on 15 Jul 2010

I'd be happy to get 15 Mbps to 30 Mbps

There's about 6 km of cable from my estate to the satellite exchange serving us. It serves approx 10,800 lines, and the main exchange a further 21,200 (in N Wales).

I was angry when I saw Middlewich, Cheshire, in the news (FTTC work hit power cable) as they have around 5,900. What is BT's logic ?

I get 750 kbps down to 500 / 250 / 160 kbps or nothing at all.

By NetGuy on 15 Jul 2010

backup is a dongle on Three mobile

Forgot to mention that I get 15 GB of data transfer for 7.50/month. Although it may not be much faster than the landline, it's been in use almost 2 years and seems quite reliable, by comparison.

By NetGuy on 15 Jul 2010

@matbailie

sorry but if you are going to keep comparing yourself to the Joneses then you are going to feel inadequate and deprived you play the cards you are dealt and get on with it. The job of the elected body is to ensure that tax money is spent wisely and for the populace and ensure that the laws of the land are fair.

as for economic segregation and social segregation it surely is a matter of subjectivity if a person in living in the country does not have a TV/computer/mobile phone but enjoys the fruits of the land and has a tight knit community around. who is to say he is poorer or richer than a person working a 14hr day in the suburbs barely seeing his kids and no community support but does have sky/20mbps and all the fast food he can eat.

I understand that I have used extreme examples and that for most neither is completely true but to hang so much on the ability to access the internet at an acceptable rate is I feel slightly blinkered.

By SimonCorlett on 16 Jul 2010