UK ‘must increase broadband investment’

UK 'MUST INCREASE BROADBAND INVESTMENT'
[SOURCE: Financial Times, AUTHOR: Andrew Edgecliffe-Johnson and Andrew Parker]
Ministers and regulators have just two years to find ways of encouraging investment in the next generation of high-speed broadband, or the UK’s competitiveness will suffer, according to a report published on Monday. Existing Internet access networks, and those being rolled out, will be too slow to meet the demands of the most bandwidth-hungry businesses and households by 2012, the Broadband Stakeholder Group report warns. Pressure on broadband pricing means commercial incentives for building the necessary infrastructure are “particularly weak” in the UK, according to BSG, a government advisory group composed of telecoms companies, content providers and regulators. “If steps are not taken [by 2009] to prepare for next-generation broadband, then we may well find ourselves in a position where it is too late to catch up,” said Kip Meek, BSG chairman. BT will start offering broadband download speeds of up to 24 megabits per second from next year ­ three times its fastest existing speed ­ as it rolls out its £10bn 21st century fixed-line network. Virgin Media plans to offer up to 20 mbps from June and is testing a 50 mbps service.
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/c3b9db80-eb8f-11db-b290-000b5df10621.html
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