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Delivering World-Class Digital Connectivity

Antony Walker, deputy CEO reacts to high-speed broadband measures in Queen's Speech.

Universal, high quality broadband – be that in the home or on the move – is now a cornerstone of our economy. Measures announced in the Queen’s Speech yesterday, that help to drive down the cost of network deployments, take us a step closer to that goal. This will benefit businesses and consumers across the UK.

Amendments to the Electronic Communications Code, alongside other reforms to planning rules will make it easier for Communications Service Providers to build out networks in hard to reach areas.

“Gaining timely access to sites on fair terms makes a huge difference when trying to deploy communications infrastructure, be that in city centres or highly rural areas”, said Antony Walker, Deputy CEO, techUK. “These changes will make it cheaper to build or upgrade infrastructure, meaning that private sector investment will result in more homes, businesses and transport corridors being provided with high-quality connectivity”

“The government’s ambitions for extending the reach of high quality broadband are achievable. But we mustn’t put the cart before the horse. We need to focus first on how we can drive down costs, by removing barriers and enabling companies to plan efficiently. If we can drive down costs, then the funding discussion becomes far easier and the whole process should move faster. If we are smart then the number of connections that need to be funded through a Universal Service Obligation (USO) may be very small – maybe under 1% of all premises.”

techUK is committed to working with Government to get this right. “We have to get these services to the homes and businesses that so desperately need them”, said Walker. “This can best be achieved through a combination of measures – from reducing the barriers to investment, demand stimulation, enabling operators to plan network upgrades efficiently and further public subsidy.”

techUK believes these options need to be fully exploited before we consider using a USO to fund the last remaining connections. “There may be a role for a USO as a safety net for a small number of premises that remain. But using the USO to address the whole of the last 5% is likely to prove expensive, inefficient and slow if used in isolation.”

Getting this right will benefit the UK economy as whole. Making high quality broadband available to the last 5% of premises will enable more entrepreneurs to set up businesses, regardless of location. Meanwhile established businesses will get a boost to their productivity from better broadband.

>> Check out the techUK response to the wider aspects of the Queen's Speech

 

Channel website: http://www.techuk.org/

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