Online retailers could be under threat if high-speed broadband is not rolled out

Claims have recently been made that the online retailers in the UK could face serious problems if high-speed broadband internet connections aren’t deployed throughout the country soon.

The continued expansion of the retail sector is one of a small number in the UK that seems to be doing so in the current economic climate say the Financial Times. It has, however, said that if the UK fails to keep pace with advances of technology in the broadband sector there may be a significant slowdown in this expansion.

Privacy was one of the key issues currently facing broadband, the publication found, and this is because the biggest source of revenue for most sites is through advertising due to the free distribution of much of its media online. The privacy of many broadband users is often put at risk because of the demands to know geographic locations of and also who is being exposed to adverts from the many Companies that get revenues in this manner.

The newspaper has said that, despite this issue, Improvements to the broadband infrastructure will start being looked into by the government in the UK. A positive move has been made by the government, the FT said, in the appointment of the minister for technology, communications and broadband, Stephen Carter, advising that he fully understood the challenges ahead.

Korea and Japan are amongst some of the more notable countries that currently already have a high-speed broadband connection rolled out. With the ability to reach speeds of up to 100Mbps the fibre optic broadband networks in both of these countries are subsidised by the state.

In comparison the maximum speeds in the UK don’t get much faster than speeds of up to 24Mbps that most service providers currently offer users. There are currently tests taking place in various parts of the UK for faster broadband networks and residents in areas like Bournemouth and London could soon be getting speed similar to many of the Asian areas.