Broadband reach entire society in next generation – Ofcom

The Ofcom Consumer Panel (OCP) has suggested that the new high speed, fibre based broadband services (100Mbps) should also be made available to those consumers who are excluded from first generation broadband. To this effect, the OCP has offered a few plans so that this expensive project can be accomplished and the issue of current, digital divide in many areas of the UK can be better addressed.

Anna Bradley, the Chair person of the Ofcom Consumer Panel said:
“We already know that the economic case for next generation access will not stack up in some areas and we can predict which areas that will be. So let’s address these issues alongside commercial roll-out, not after it.”

“If we are imaginative and use a mix of private and public business models, we could provide a way for consumers who are excluded from first generation broadband to leapfrog straight to the next generation.”

The panel has also suggested that the detailed map that shows the remote areas where broadband access is either virtually non-existent or lacks adequate infrastructure should be drawn to help the broadband providers to effectively address the issue. As the investment from the providers to offer business broadband in these areas is the key factor that determines the cost that broadband consumers need to bear, the ISPs and network providers should find out both advantages and cost for setting up the new high speed broadband networks in these areas, according to the OCP.

Anna Bradley further said:
“The UK is making some critical decisions about the delivery of next generation broadband in the UK. Consumers and citizens stand to gain a great UK broadband deal, but the decisions need to be informed by a proper sense of the value next generation networks can deliver, not just to companies and consumers, but to the economy and society as a whole,”

BT broadband provider has already unveiled its plans of deploying ambitious 100Mbps fibre based broadband network which will provide super-fast broadband services to more than 10 million homes by 2012. The broadband provider will use both FTTP and FTTC technologies and the project will cost the ISP whooping £4 bn.