Billions of pounds in private funding earmarked for a national rollout of broadband internet could be put at risk if the Government back peddles on a £5bn funding pledge, industry experts have warned.
Whitehall insiders were scrambling to reassure industry that the money, promised by Boris Johnson last year to provide faster broadband across the whole UK, will still be available after only releasing £1.2bn at Wednesday’s Spending Review.
The review also watered down an earlier pledge to connect the whole of the UK with gigabit-capable broadband by 2025, pulling it back to just 85pc in a move that will exclude millions of people in some of the country’s most remote rural areas.
Malcolm Corbett, of INCA, which represents independent UK broadband networks, said: “Investors are surprised. There is a lot of private investment in the sector: £7.7bn in total. It has created a lot of uncertainty with no consultation.”
Navin Sankersingh, a rural broadband consultant who works with local authorities, agrees the shift in position has fueled uncertainty at a critical moment.
"The announcement was unexpected as gigabit connectivity is now needed more than anything," he said. "Investors would now be rethinking spend plans as they modelled investment based on securing subsidy."
The Government has stressed that the 85pc figure represents a minimum, and it still hopes to hit the 100pc target.
The Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport said one in three UK premises can now access gigabit broadband, up from 12pc in 2019. It expects half of the UK to have 1 gigabit per second broadband speeds by next year.
"The Government is working with industry to target a minimum of 85pc gigabit-capable coverage by 2025, but will seek to accelerate roll-out further to get as close to 100pc as possible," according to the National Infrastructure Strategy, published alongside the Treasury’s Spending Review on Wednesday.
Bureaucratic car-crash
Lloyd Felton, chief executive of County Broadband, a specialist provider in East Anglia, said it will be rural communities that suffer most if the full £5bn is not available.
"It won’t affect us because we’re privately backed," he said. "The difference is that the government subsidies available would allow us to reach more deeply into rural areas."
Rural areas with lower population densities are less commercially attractive and therefore require "gap funding" from government in order to incentivise broadband providers to connect them.
One industry source said the Government had indicated more of the original £5bn would be made available more quickly, but only if the procurement process can be accelerated.
Industry figures, however, have complained that any slowdown was due to the Government changing targets.
Some have blamed the process of divvying out “lots” to broadband providers as slow and convoluted. This summer, Openreach boss Clive Selley told The Telegraph it had proved a “bureaucratic car crash”.
Sources said industry was ready to hire thousands of people to begin laying cable, but it was now unclear if they had Government support. One said: “Hopefully there is a desire [from the Government] to move a bit faster.”
Worldwide broadband speed league (2019)
Others said this new announcement would force left-behind areas to rely on alternatives such as satellite-based or 4G internet.
"There are a lot of people who live in areas that are not covered [by broadband]," said a spokesperson for Rural Internet, a company that helps connect the country’s "not-spots" to 4G or 5G, where available.
"We deal with people who get just 1 MB, which doesn’t cut it if you have kids in remote school and everyone wants to watch Netflix," he said, adding that speed was not fast enough to watch a video without extensive buffering.
"4G home broadband has come on in leaps in bounds recently and it’s now a very viable alternative to a traditional fixed-line service," said Broadband Choices spokesman Rob Baillie.
Although satellite broadband users can suffer from high installation fees, data caps and unspectacular speeds, he believed the technology will function as a rare alternative in remote areas where even 4G remains unavailable.
"While there was much talk that the original rollout plan would bring an end to satellite broadband, it now seems it will continue to be a lifeline to rural communities well beyond 2025," Mr Baillie said.
Rural communities to miss out
Steve Leighton, chief executive of rural provider Voneus, said Fixed Wireless Access technologies — an alternative to fixed cables — have just been acknowledged by Ofcom as a mainstream broadband technology.
"These networks can offer rural homes and businesses superfast and ultrafast speeds and represent a really effective way of bringing rural communities that are struggling with connectivity online quickly," he said.
Paul Stobart, boss of internet provider Zen, said the new target was disappointing, especially since lockdown has taught the country that broadband is increasingly viewed as essential.
"The importance of ultrafast to the nation cant be underestimated — it is the gateway to transforming our productivity and performance and to be able to work flexibility from anywhere and deliver great products and services to the world," he said.
"That’s why its its disappointing it’s not going to be rolled out everywhere."
Best and worst places to work from home in the UK
Свежие комментарии