Broadband Year in Review: 2009 – Broadband Comparison News
The topic of digital inclusion has been at the top of the agenda for the government for Broadband Britain, from digital radio to security and safety. Lord Carter worked to satisfy everyone with demands for tougher action on music piracy to those lobbying for more consumer rights. Martha Lane Fox was appointed Digital Inclusion Champion to campaign for the most disadvantaged. She is focused on getting the six million poorest citizens online and working with the elderly and their barriers for going online.
The announcement by the government of a ‘2 meg’ Universal Service Commitment (USC) was the biggest news and confirms the government’s ambitions that by 2012, everyone in the UK will be able to receive broadband service on a line with speeds of up to 2 Mbps. However, the plan still lacks detail and there has been some confusion as to whether this is a minimum 2 Mbps guarantee or a commitment to try to achieve it.
We also had the introduction of the ‘broadband tax,’ a 50 pence monthly levy on all fixed telephone lines. This is supposed to fund the next generation broadband deployment for those areas where market led approaches are unlikely to succeed.
BT introduced its ‘fibre to the cabinet’ or ‘FTTC’ services in pilot areas including Muswell Hill, which now allow for upstream speeds of up to 10Mbps which will be of particular interest to businesses who have long waited for additional upstream capacity. BT is also increasing its ‘fibre to the home’ (FTTH) plans. Meanwhile, Virgin Media continue to dominate the super fast broadband space with its 50 meg service.
The General Election in the next few months may lead to interesting debates about broadband in some areas and the Digital Economy Bill is about to enter the Committee Stage in the House of Lords.
We expect to see more next generation access rollout next year, including the setup of the organisation around the funding of next generation access for those communities funded by the levy, but there is an air of uncertainty which is likely to only intensify until a new government is formed.