Next-gen broadband questions still unanswered

Next-generation broadband is being touted as a panacea for the UK's ills

The chief executive of the UK's Broadband Stakeholder Group warned today that numerous challenges still need addressing if next-generation broadband deployment is to succeed.

Antony Walker told attendees at a Westminster eForum entitled The Future of Broadband in the UK that industry and government are "right to worry about" broadband deployment, and that future business innovation depends on ensuring that next-generation services are put in place in the coming years.

"We are facing some serious challenges in this country, and it is vital that ICT is able to meet these. Sustained economic growth, cutting government costs and lowering carbon emissions can all be stimulated with next-generation broadband access," he said.

"A national deployment of broadband could cost anywhere between £5bn and £28bn depending on whether fibre-to-the-cabinet or fibre-to-the-home networks are installed, and yet there are still many uncertainties over the business benefits of installing such a network.

"Furthermore, with such dynamic technological cycles, there is an uncertainty over where the industry will go and where future threats could come from, making companies and investors reluctant to commit."

Walker also detailed the differing road maps put forward by the Labour and Conservative parties, noting that Labour had made commitments to getting the 'final third' and those in rural areas connected with its Universal Service Commitment (USC) to provide everyone with access to a minimum speed of 2MB.

"The Labour government appears to be taking a nuts and bolts approach to the issue with its offer of direct investment and the proposed 50p tax levy on fixed phone lines," he said.

"The Conservatives, by contrast, seem to favour a 'market mechanisms' approach, allowing market forces to dictate the take up in areas where the need for high-speed broadband is required, and hope that demand will then exceed current expectations. As such they seem happy to sort the rural issue out later. "

Walker suggested that there were some key areas where the industry could move forward without needing to wait for the political situation to become clear, particularly with the USC.

"The USC appears to have caused very little contention and is something that should be driven forward. There still needs to be some clarification of what giving everyone 2MB connections would mean in reality, but it's something that should be being addressed now," he said.

However, some speakers at the event maintained that the lack of initial take up of the currently available super-fast broadband packages showed that demand is not as great as has been suggested.

Ian Fogg, a principal analyst with research company Forrester, explained that he had not noticed the same "pent up frustration with internet speeds" as there had been in the past when first-generation broadband emerged.

"There has not been the same immediate take up of high-end broadband speeds that there was several years ago when people were frustrated with the speed of dial-up networks and saw the obvious business and consumer benefits of moving to broadband," he said.

However, both Graham Lovelace from Lovelace Consulting and Jon James, executive director of broadband at Virgin Media, said that the growing demand for television accessed through broadband would drive the take up of top-level speeds in the coming years.