Hunt speaks out prior to broadband summit

Jeremy Hunt, the Culture Secretary, spoke out prior to the broadband summit this week calling on operators to share their networks and reiterating the importance of widespread broadband access across the UK.

In a recent announcement the government revealed that a broadband summit was taking place this week in order to debate ideas relating to the rollout of broadband across the UK. Funding of universal broadband was originally to come from a broadband tax that was introduced by the former Labour government, but this was scrapped by the coalition government when it came into power.

The culture secretary, Jeremy Hunt, has now spoken out prior to the broadband summit, and has called on operators to share their networks, adding that the rollout of broadband access across the UK was vital. However, communications giant BT has said that without around two billion pounds of public cash wiring up the whole of Britain to broadband will be impossible.

Prior to the summit, called the Industry Day Summit, Jeremy Hunt said: “There is currently nothing to stop telecoms or utility companies reaching commercial agreements to share their infrastructure, but very few agreements currently exist.” He also said that “the market on its own will not deliver basic broadband services to all, or provide superfast broadband to many remote and rural areas” calling on providers to collaborate and innovate with regards to providing rural areas with broadband and rolling out high speed broadband.

Hunt added: “Our broadband network is as fundamental to Britain’s success in the digital era as the railway network was in the industrial age. By the end of this Parliament, this country should boast the best superfast broadband in Europe and be up there with the very best in the world.”

Source – EWeek Europe