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A senior government official has said the UK must strengthen broadband infrastructure to prosper after leaving the EU.
Speaking at Microsoft’s Transform conference, Matthew Gould, Director of Digital and Media at the Department for Culture, Media and Sport, warned: “As we leave the EU, our future prosperity depends on us being connected, cyber secure, innovation-friendly and digitally skilled. This is a fantastically important mission.”
The government is midway through its Broadband Delivery UK (BDUK) programme, run by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport. BDUK aims to:
- Provide superfast broadband coverage to 90% of the UK by early 2016 and 95% by December 2017
- Ensure basic broadband access (2 Mbps) for all from December 2015
- Explore options to deliver superfast service to the hardest-to-reach parts of the UK
- Encourage uptake of superfast broadband by SMEs to support growth through the Broadband Connection Voucher Scheme (now closed)
- Improve mobile coverage in remote areas by 2016
Reliable broadband is increasingly vital for businesses and individuals to connect, share, and grow. In recognition of the internet’s importance, a UN Human Rights Council report has described internet access as a fundamental enabler of the right to freedom of opinion and expression.
As coverage expands, attention is turning to the speed and capacity needed for next-generation applications. One promising approach is G.fast, a technology that uses existing copper lines to deliver much faster speeds than those commonly available today.
BT is among the leaders deploying G.fast and has been running field trials. Openreach has announced initial wholesale pricing for services expected to deliver speeds around 300 Mbps, with upgrades to about 500 Mbps planned later.
“The speed that was acceptable five years ago is not acceptable now, and what is acceptable today won’t be enough in five years,” Gould said. “We must move with users’ requirements — not just speed, but latency and quality of service. The market will need to deliver ever faster, more reliable connectivity, ultimately moving toward gigabit speeds that full fibre to the premises can provide. The market has not moved as fast as it could have.”
Akamai research earlier this year found the UK’s average connection speed at about 11.6 Mbps, compared with 14.1 Mbps in Norway, 15.3 Mbps in the Netherlands and 15.8 Mbps in Sweden. Those figures underline the need to accelerate upgrade efforts to remain competitive.
With the European Commission setting a target to connect 50% of premises at 100 Mbps or higher by 2020, analysts expect more aggressive G.fast deployments across Western Europe to help operators meet those goals. Other regions are expected to move more slowly, with forecasts suggesting only a small share of broadband services elsewhere will migrate to G.fast.
Beyond G.fast, researchers are developing the next generation known as XG-FAST. Experiments by Bell Labs have pushed speeds up to 10 Gbps in lab tests, demonstrating the potential of copper-based technologies when combined with advanced signal processing.
Culture Secretary John Whittingdale said the UK already leads Europe in superfast broadband coverage and speeds, noting that tens of thousands of homes and businesses are gaining access each week thanks to government rollout efforts.
Are you encouraged by current progress in the broadband rollout? Share your thoughts in the comments.