Ofcom chief executive Ed Richards Ofcom, believes
telecommunications will play a fundamental role in the UK's
recovery from the recession.
Speaking at the London School of Economics, he said the
political mainstream considers telecoms infrastructure to be
critical to the 21st century economy. "This is a topic no longer
the preserve of physicists, engineers and economists. I would argue
that no self respecting political leader can avoid having the
digital economy as part of their plan for the future," he said.
Richards said UK and EU telecoms companies in Europe had been
toughened up by several years of competition, which could given
them an advantage compared to the rest of the world. "This is an
advantage for both the telecoms industry as a whole, and almost the
entire economy."
However, as
reported in the Financial Times today, 3.8 million of the UK's
25.6 million homes are unable to receive the minimum 2mbps
broadband speed set by the
Digital Britain report published last month.
Watch Ed Richards' speech >>