Superfast broadband could cost close to thirty billion

A recent report has indicated that the UK could end up paying nearly £30 billion for the implementation of superfast broadband.

A recent report put together by the government’s broadband advisory group has suggested that getting superfast fibre-based broadband into UK homes could cost the nation nearly thirty billion pounds. The report indicates that the bill for the rollout of fibre-based broadband could come to more than £28.8 billion.

The advisory group has been looking at various cheaper ways of rolling out fibre-based broadband, and the report goes on to state that it could cost far less to take the fibres to street level boxes, which would bring the bill down to just over five billion dollars. The report goes on to state that there are some very difficult choices to be made due to the different costings in relation to updating broadband access in rural and urban areas.

An official from the Broadband Stakeholder Group stated: “The scale of the costs involved means that the transition to superfast broadband will be challenging.” He added: “We hope that this report will help to ensure an informed public debate on the key policy and regulatory decisions that lie ahead.”

Whilst the cheapest option was the £5.1 billion option of taking fibres to street level boxes, the most expensive option was to give each home or business its own cable, a process that will send the cost soaring to £28.9 billion or more.

The BSG also went on to state that the main cost involved with the roll out of fibre-based broadband was the cost of digging up the roads to lay the cables. The group also added that some areas would end up missing out because of the cost of installing it less populated areas. The group went on to state: “If rural areas are to be served in a reasonable timeframe, thinking needs to start now about creative solutions for making them more attractive to investment.”