The fact that about three million households in the United Kingdom were having broadband speeds less than 2Mbps was revealed by a new study undertaken by the BBC. The most convincing part of the conclusion was that it was not just the rural parts of the country that were affected by incompetent broadband speeds, as even some urban areas were found suffering from the problem. The news agency's survey further says that considerable commuter belt areas near principle cities as well as towns were also affected by low speeds, with Hampshire county being one of the most trailing.
The survey was carried out by a broadband specialising agency called SamKnows, on behalf of the BBC. The survey also revealed that in Basingstoke in Hampshire, 50 percent of homes were at least six kilometeres far from the exchange, as the common parameter said that from the telephone exchange of the locality, a property was required to be lesser than four kilometres to enjoy a broadband speed of at least 2 Megabit per second. To compound the woes of Hampshire, twenty five percent of the postcodes in the county were lagging behind with less than 1Mbps broadband speeds.
The slowness in the broadband service could mean that the people would not be viewing many websites properly, including BBC iPlayer-like social networking websites. Moreover, in a period when more and more businesses in the country are encouraging flexible working at home, the sluggish broadband speeds can even impede its economic growth in a broader perspective. The study is also is also raising some questions as how materialistic the broadband for all – Digital Britain plan of the government is, with many parts of the country trailing considerably in the promised 2Mbps broadband speed.
The survey is also significant in the eve of the final Digital Britain report, which is due in the month of June. Moreover, the essence of the survey obviously points to the government's increased expectations on the wireless broadband technologies, such as the satellite and the mobile broadband to help it cover the huge gaps comprising of lack of coverage, as well as the speed related issues.
29-05-2009
