Public to play an important role in the future of UK broadband

The latest claim from an advisory group in a recent forum is that the future of super-fast broadband connections is in the hands of the public and that they will strong affect the broadband network infrastructure that will be created throughout the country.

The future of the UKs high-speed broadband network will require the involvement of the public who have a leading role to play in its evolution, according to recent claims made by an advisory group.

The key elements of the Digital Britain strategy were debated, including the public impact it would have, by the delegates that attended the keynote seminar at the Joint Westminster eForum and Westminster Media Forum, which was held on the 14th January.

Kip Meek, the chair at the Broadband Stakeholder Group (BSG) said, whilst speaking at the seminar that when it came to the future broadband makeup within the UK the public would have a very important role to play in its advancement.

Mr Meek explained “I think there is very little forum for debate at this point that public intervention has a role in leading us towards the next-generation of broadband and the extension of the current generation of broadband.”

He also added “The question is should the government intervene? Should it, for example, conduct a broadband tender of the type that’s operating in Australia, where AU$5 billion (£2.349 billion) worth of taxpayers’ money is proposed to be reinvested in extending fibre in Australia?”

It was indicated that 25 percent of broadband users fail to receive the broadband connection speeds that they thought they had signed up for, according to the recent research that was carried out by Ofcom, the telecoms regulator. This revelation may be due to a lack of clarity from internet service providers as to the actual speeds users will get based on their geographical location and the unclear ‘up to’ speed indications given by provider for their broadband services.