In the recent Cisco research looking at broadband speeds across the globe, the UK was nineteenth – ‘our infrastructure is perfectly adequate at the moment’ was the headline. It reminded me of what the canal owners said about their infrastructure when asked about railways in the mid-nineteenth century.
Britain used to lead the world in railway development and reaped the benefits. The same cannot be said today for Next Generation Access – the fibre optic cables that will offer services to transform the way we live and work.
The UK is not building these networks fast enough; South Korea, Japan and Sweden lead the way. This mid-table mediocrity could have serious ramifications as the next Googles and Facebooks will spring up in the countries with the best and most affordable connections.
The government needs to place more importance in broadband solutions. It is the necessary infrastructure for twenty-first century business and, as public sector spending cuts loom, it must not slip down the agenda. BT and Virgin Media are making investments that will bring faster speeds to two thirds of homes and businesses, but leave out the remaining third. With the private sector taking the lead, what are the solutions for the areas that the market deems uneconomic?
Government needs to reconsider its approach. One move would be to improve commissioning processes to allow more local contractors to enter the fray, who have an obvious vested interest. Another would be to generate finance from community shares, a system where individuals own their own networks. Thirdly, social enterprises, which reinvest profits back into their business and in support of local communities, also offer a solution.
Such an approach will offer scale to the patchwork quilt of independent projects springing up around the country. Through providing a one-stop-shop for public sector clients interested in working with local networks, the government can develop the grass-roots initiatives that will vastly improve the long-term outlook for the UK’s broadband infrastructure.
Daniel Heery is chief executive of Cybermoor social enterprise and is a social enterprise ambassador
