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Better broadband doesn't have to cost more, says expert
Monday 2nd November 2009, by Daniel King
Providing two-megabyte broadband speeds for the whole of the UK will not necessarily lead to higher costs for the consumer, an expert said today (November 2nd).
Charles Trotman is head of rural business development at the Country Land & Business Association (CLA) and discussed why it should be a legal requirement to give both businesses and consumers a minimum two-megabyte connection.
However, it would depend on how this technology is rolled out as to how pricey it would be for the end user, he said.
Updating exchanges to use fixed-line systems may incur additional costs, but wireless and mobile or satellite broadband is not likely to notch expenditure up.
Making a minimum speed required by law could be similar to the current phone-line obligations, Mr Trotman continued.
"You must be able to talk to somebody at the other end of the telephone if you make a telephone call. That's a legal obligation - that wouldn't be any different from a universal service obligation for broadband up to say, two megabytes per second."
His comments follow last months' announcement by the CLA regarding BT's support for the construction of a broadband network able to handle increasing demand in the UK.
The organisation said it was pleased to see BT request help from the government on this issue, because otherwise super-fast broadband is unlikely to be possible unless there is committal from the authorities.
As a consequence, rural economies would continue to lag behind their urban counterparts, remarked CLA president Henry Aubry-Fletcher.
Categories: Broadband
