UK Firms Say: 'Give Us As Much Broadband As You Can!'

There’s no such thing as ‘fast enough’ when it comes to broadband.

The Institute of Directors (IoD), which represents some 35,000 businesses around the country, has called on the Government to bring 10Gbps (gigabits per second) internet speeds to everyone, by 2030.

The Government is currently trying to bring 10Mbps speeds to everyone by 2020.

The call was made through IoD’s new report entitled ‘Ultrafast Britain – A Broadband Vision for 2030, and spotted by ISPReview. By laying down 10Gbps capable fibre optic, the country would truly take world lead in internet speeds.

Even though IoD welcomed Ofcom’s choice not to split Openreach from BT, it did say that a Competition and Markets Authority investigation must remain ‘on the table’:

“The current set up, with the major broadband provider being part of the same group that owns the cables, poles and pipes, may not in the long term be able to deliver the network that the UK’s rapidly expanding internet economy needs,” said senior structure adviser at IoD, Dan Lewis.

“Even after Ofcom’s changes, BT Group will still extract value from competitors paying to use Openreach’s network, so a full investigation by the Competition and Markets Authority must remain on the table.”

Speaking for the BBC, Lewis said: “Now is the time to set a bold new target for genuinely world-beating broadband. We have the leading internet economy in the G20, and yet download speeds are mediocre and the coverage of fibre optic cable is woeful. Unfortunately, the Government’s current target displays a distinct poverty of ambition.”

ISPReview believes covering the country in optic fibre could cost £20bn to £30bn, maybe even more.

Author: Sead Fadilpašic
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Published under license from ITProPortal.com