According to new research by Point Topic the Government faces a “massive challenge” in its pledge to ensure that all UK households receive broadband up to a minimum of 2Mb/s.
The research provides a regional breakdown of broadband speeds which show big variations in availability. London is best placed with only 1.2% of homes unable to access speeds of 2 Mb/s or above, but nearly a third of homes in Northern Ireland are out of reach of the 2 Mb/s threshold.
Wales, is the second worst region for speed, with 26.9% of homes unable to get speeds of 2Mbps or above. Indeed, every single region outside London has more than 10% of its homes that are unable to receive 2 Mb/s or above.
“Towns such as Basingstoke and Milton Keynes which people might expect to be well connected have notspots,” said Tim Johnson, chief analyst with Point Topic.
“The scale of the task is massive and in order to achieve it there needs to be co-operation between Government, the regulator and operators such as BT,” he said.
“We forecast that over 90% of UK homes could have broadband access in 10 years time, almost all with speeds of 32Mbps,” he predicted. But, in order to achieve this, the government needs to back the right technology and make sure conditions are favourable, he added.
“We think that fibre is the right way to go. That will provide the UK with a future-proofed network,” said Mr Johnson.
We agree, on the basis that a 2Mb/s commitment for all by 2012, whilst laudable, is still not setting the bar very high. The average broadband speed in Japan today is approx 90 Mb/s, where FTTH (fibre to the home) is prevalent – and this likely to increase hugely by 2012.
PERCENTAGE OF UK OUT OF RANGE OF 2MBPS
East Midlands – 15.2%
East of England – 15%
London – 1.2%
North East – 15.8%
North West – 10.8%
South East – 13.5%
South West – 19.9%
West Midlands – 10.4%
Yorkshire/Humber – 16.1%
Northern Ireland – 32.2%
Scotland – 15.6%
Wales – 26.9%
So in order for the UK to benefit from a broadband infrastructure that is in any way competitive relative to the big players in the Far East, fibre is going to be essential.
But average broadband speed and broadband coverage are two different challenges. The question still remains as to how the Government is going to fill the coverage gaps, to provide broadband for all. Mobile broadband is suggested as an alternative, but essentially suffers from similar economic constraints as the home broadband providers.