TheCarter Report on Digital Britainwill
recommend that broadband access be made a universal obligation on
network operators, according to reports.
The Financial Times reported this morning that Stephen Carter
will call for every home in the country to have access to a
communications link of at least 2Mbps.
This would bring the UK in line with
European Commission policy. Communications commissioner Viviane
Reding said in September, "It is this Commission's policy objective
to achieve broadband internet for all Europeans by 2010."
The Department for Business and Regualtory Reform (BERR) said
the report was still being drafted, adding that although the report
was imminent, "there was still lots of room for change".
Ofcom
reported
recently that UK consumers with broadband already enjoy average
download speeds of 3.6Mbps, even if this is less than half the
advertised "headline rate".
According to Ofcom, more than 90% of UK households could get a
broadband service, but just over 50% are actually using it. This is
a higher penetration rate than Europe, where the average is 36% of
households, or one in five people.
It is not clear whether Carter's proposed universal service
obligation would extend to mobile network operators. Their top
speed is 384kbps, but technology developments would allow them to
increase this above 2Mbps if Ofcom freed up the requisite radio
spectrum.
How much government should do to support the roll-out of
high-speed broadband is moot.
Virgin Media is already spending "a few hundred million" to
upgrade its cable TV network to deliver a 50Mbps service. BT has
said it will consider spending £1.5bn to upgrade its core network
to provide at least 2Mbps nationally.
These initiatives are aimed mainly at urban homes. BT's plan
offers high speed to the kerb. The local loop (ie, the link from
the street cabinet into the home) remains a bottleneck. This is why
rural areas are poorly served in terms of broadband.
The Broadband Stakeholder Group (BSG)
estimated it will cost £5.1bn to roll out fibre to the cabinet
(the cheapest technology option). Taking fibre to every UK home
(using point-to-point fibre - the most expensive technology option)
would cost up to £28.8 bn.
The BSG said the largest single cost component is the civil
infrastructure (the cost of deploying and installing the fibre in
new or existing ducts). This could create jobs, digging up streets
and installing telephone poles, which the government would welcome
in the face of the growing loss of jobs as the recession bites.
Late last year the
Caio
report said government needed do nothing in the short term. It
spoke of consumers' present relative satisfaction with the service
they receive, but noted that the UK would fall behind over time
unless it addressed the issue in the medium term.
Downing Street referred comment to the Department of Business
and Regulatory Reform. However, prime minister Gordon said two
weeks ago the roll-out of high-speed broadband would support the
economy and the creation of "digital jobs".
Shadow culture secretary Jeremy Hunt said last week the
Conservative Party would ensure citizens would have access to a
broadband service within five years.
BERR's statement in full
"A large number of ideas have been put on the table - that is
the point of the Digital Britain process and of the steering board
of external advisers who put ideas forward for consideration. Some
ideas may feature in the Digital Britain report, some will not. The
fact is that the interim report is still at the very early stages
of drafting.
"Discussions with external stakeholders, steering board members
and within government are ongoing. The interim report is not due to
be published until the end of the month, so any assumptions about
its contents at this stage are purely speculative."