For the first time, senior executives from EE, Vodafone and Three will join fixed-line providers in talks about extending superfast broadband to areas of the country that currently lack coverage or have only limited access.
In June the government announced plans to set aside £250m to help achieve superfast broadband access for 95 percent of UK premises by 2017. This funding sits alongside a larger, and controversial, £520m initiative aimed at stimulating investment in rural broadband.
Critics argue that the government’s approach effectively allows BT to dominate the rollout, creating an unfair advantage over competitors. Margaret Hodge MP, Chair of the Committee of Public Accounts, pointed out that all 26 contracts awarded by June 2013 went to BT and suggested the remaining 18 were likely to follow suit.
“Consumers are not getting the benefits of healthy competition and BT will end up owning assets created with £1.2bn of public money,” Hodge said.
Many users already find mobile broadband to be as fast or more reliable than some home fibre or cable connections, which helps explain why mobile operators have been invited to take part in the discussions. Talks will consider a mix of fixed, wireless and mobile solutions to push coverage further and work toward an expanded target: reaching 99 percent of UK premises by 2018.
Mobile operators are exploring how they can improve services and meet their own coverage goals. One proposal is for BT to open parts of its infrastructure to support the rollout of 4G in rural areas, enabling faster deployment of mobile broadband where laying new fixed lines is impractical or uneconomic.
A Vodafone UK spokesperson urged the government to revise its approach to include wireless 4G measures, saying this is essential to making a truly digital Britain a reality.
Operators have set ambitious rollout targets: EE says its 4G network will cover 98 percent of the population by the end of 2014; Vodafone aims to reach the same level by the end of 2015; and O2 has committed to achieving that coverage by 2017. Three has taken a different route by offering a free upgrade to 4G for existing 3G customers and targeting 98 percent population coverage by the end of 2015.
In addition to these individual plans, the four main mobile operators have pledged £150m toward a joint mobile infrastructure project focused on rural areas where the market alone is unlikely to produce adequate investment. That shared funding is intended to fill coverage gaps and boost mobile connectivity in underserved communities.
These discussions between mobile and fixed broadband stakeholders reflect a shift toward a more collaborative approach: combining fibre and wireless technologies, opening existing infrastructure where feasible, and coordinating public funds to maximize coverage while trying to preserve competitive markets. The outcome could determine how quickly and equitably faster broadband becomes available across rural and hard-to-reach parts of the UK.
What do you think about the talks between mobile operators and fixed broadband providers?