With concerns over the UK lagging behind when it comes to the future of broadband, Ofcom has now become involved in talks on the future of the UK’s broadband services

Over recent months there has been concern over how the UK is lagging behind when it comes to the future of broadband, with inadequate technology in place to cope with the higher speeds of the future. Other countries are already utilizing technology, such as fiber based networks, that enable them to embrace higher speeds and advanced broadband technology. However, some experts have expressed concerns that the UK will be unable to keep up with broadband advancements because of the lack of technology in place.

It has now been announced that a summit is to be held with the broadband industry by the former e-commerce minister and minister for competitiveness, Stephen Timms. The summit will help to determine whether government intervention and funding is necessary to get the UK on track for advanced broadband services and increased speeds. Ofcom will now be involved in this debate, helping to determine the UK’s broadband future when it comes to keeping up with other countries.

Mr Timms stated: “When I became e-commerce minister five years ago, the UK was neck and neck with Croatia on broadband availability and use. We fixed that problem and put Britain in a leading position. However, today we face a new challenge. Other countries are starting to invest in new, fibre-based infrastructure, delivering considerably higher bandwidth than is available in the UK today.” He added: “It is essential that the UK undertakes timely deployment of technology - we can’t lag behind.”

The Chief Executive of BT’s Openreach has already expressed interest in investing in fibre networking for new homes. He stated: “The government has said there is going to be a major acceleration in housebuilding and, for Openreach, putting fibre into the ground is just as easy as putting copper into the ground. However, that does not help end users at all unless service providers - BT Retail, Carphone, Sky, Tiscali etc - come and play too and develop products.”