Broadband delay: what the experts think

The government's decision to push back the target for universal 2Mbps broadband until 2015 has disappointed some in the communications industry. Jillian Pitt, broadband expert at Consumer Focus We welcome such a high-level commitment from the government to ensure that broadband reaches rural and remote areas so that everyone can reap the huge benefits being online can bring. We are, however, disappointed that the timetable to provide a universal 2Mbps broadband connection has been pushed back to 2015. Also, the coalition agreement itself acknowledged there are areas where the market alone will not reach. We would like to see a clear government plan on what happens when this is the case. We would like to be reassured the estimated £250m under-spend from the digital switchover budget will be enough to tackle this issue. Often people living in these remote communities are amongst the most disadvantaged in our society, so there is also a wider issue about suppliers ensuring that broadband is not only available, but also affordable. Sean Royce, commercial and finance director at KC, the Kingston-based operator It is encouraging to see the government collaborating with industry to improve the telecommunications network in the UK but its target for universal broadband access is nowhere near ambitious enough. We believe there is a business case for broadband providers to deliver universal access and we would welcome greater pressure from the government to ensure they make the necessary investments. Today KC provides 2Mbps or more to 98% of our network area and we have taken the lead in committing to the provision of at least 2Mbps across our entire network, including the most rural locations, by March next year – well ahead of the government's target which has now been pushed back until 2015. We also believe broadband providers will need to go much further than 2Mbps if we are to transform UK plc and make applications like tele-health and high definition on-demand TV a reality. Ian Thomas, director of strategy development at Cable&Wireless Worldwide There is little doubt that the UK's public broadband network lags behind those found in many comparable economies. However, a clear distinction must be drawn between consumer broadband networks and networks designed specifically for the use of businesses. A lot of the analysis of the state of broadband in this country blurs this distinction and, therefore, draws incorrect conclusions. When it comes to enterprise broadband networks, the UK is actually one of the world leaders. In order to roll out 2Mbps broadband across the country, innovative solutions are called for, such as our recent Wide Area Network (WAN) implementation, which delivered broadband access to the rural Scottish Highlands and Islands. By looking at the business networks on offer today, those involved in the country-wide rollout will get a better understanding of the technologies and service levels that will be required to provide consumers with data-rich applications and services that will be the envy of the world.