Final Digital Britain Report Proposes £200m Investment in Broadband
Lord Carter’s Digital Britain report was finally unveiled a few days back, but the report falls short of people’s expectations of defining implementation plans for its grand schemes.
The interim report issued earlier already gave us a glimpse of what was in store. Nationwide hi-speed broadband connectivity is what the report promises without any actionable plans on how exactly the government is going to achieve this.
Some of the groundbreaking recommendations suggest new powers for the regulator for the communications industry, Ofcom, underground mobile broadband availability in the Tube, better plans to check piracy and illegal downloading, and above all, improved broadband services. It includes a plan to enhance broadband infrastructure with an investment of £200 million and for extensive mobile broadband access in regions with poor fixed line services. This will help fill the network gaps left by fixed-line connections. What’s the fuss about mobile internet? - click here for an explanation on the importance of the mobile broadband internet.
Additionally, the report recommends adopting Carter’s counsellor Kip Meek’s spectrum allocation plans of not affecting the 900Mhz spectrum of Vodafone and O2, but leaves feelings of an unfair treatment for Orange and T-Mobile who need to wait for the new spectrum to be made available on the changeover to digital TV.
The report in general brings good news for future broadband users. Proper implementation of the schemes will result in faster broadband speeds and greater access at affordable prices. It is however being felt that targeting a 2Mb speed in 3 years is not ambitious enough. Absence of clarity of the next steps also seems to irk many.
