Ofcom Gives BT the Superfast Broadband Go-Ahead

Hot on the heels of Lord Carter’s Digital Britain report asking for higher speed internet access for all, industry regulator Ofcom has finally announced this week that it is clearing the way for BT to make the necessary investment in its broadband infrastructure by removing previously upheld restrictions on its pricing model.

Ed Richards, Ofcom’s Chief Executive said: ‘Super-fast broadband represents one of the most important developments in modern communications for many decades. It will deliver significant benefits to consumers and businesses with the prospect of new digital services delivered over the internet at high speed.

‘Our message today is clear: there are no regulatory barriers in the way of investment in super-fast broadband; we want to promote investment but also ensure that there is fair and effective competition for the future.’

Superfast broadband, delivering the internet at up to ten times the current speed, will make huge impact on internet usage for both consumers and businesses alike. In the home it will enable multiple simultaneous users to access multiple applications without impacting speed. In business, it will revolutionise working flexibility as it enables, for example, video conferencing, two-way video calls and massively improved efficiency in data storage and retrieval.

BT has been arguing for quite some time that the scale of investment required to upgrade its copper network would not be justifiable if Ofcom’s regulation prevented BT from making a decent return on investment. Following the announcement, however, BT has agreed to proceed with its £1.5bn plan to deliver super-fast broadband to at least 40 per cent of UK households by 2012.

BT’s chief executive, Ian Livingston said: “Today's announcement from Ofcom has set expectations for the whole UK industry as the market evolves into a fibre-based world. This is an important step and will allow the market to develop the next generation of the UK's broadband infrastructure, which is so critical to the UK's future as a knowledge-based economy.”

Image: Will Lion @ Flickr