Why Britain's broadband is heading for the slow lane

The Internet is a bigger part of the British economy than education, healthcare or construction. Britons generate more money online than any other G20 nation. But when it comes to high-speed broadband, the country is falling behind.

The UK's average download speed is ranked 16th in Europe, according to IT company Akamai, and experts warn that the country is beginning to miss out as a result. "Britain is being frozen out of the next industrial revolution," Peter Cochrane, a former BT chief technology officer, has warned. "In terms of broadband, the UK is at the back of the pack. We're beaten by almost every other European country and Asia leaves us for dust." While other countries are racing to replace the old copper telephone networks with fiber optic cables running right to household doorsteps, and capable of almost unlimited speeds, the UK has settled for a compromise.