UK promised 100Mbps broadband

Michael Carroll | March 12, 2010

telecomseurope.net

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The UK’s main political opposition party wants the next Google, Microsoft, or Facebook to be British, and has pledged to rollout a 100Mbps broadband network to ensure they are.

The Conservative Party says the super-fast broadband network would boost the country’s flagging economy by establishing it as a hub for creative industries.

It pledged to roll-out the network to the majority of UK homes if it wins a forthcoming general election in a technology manifesto, released yesterday.

The manifesto states the party would seek private investment to help fund upgrades to core networks. While no figures are mentioned, Reuters reports up to £29 billion (€31.9 billion) in private funds could be sought.

Shadow culture secretary James Hunt explains the network will give the UK “a competitive advantage over other countries,” and spur a new generation of technology companies.

Optical networks technology firm Infinera told TE Daily the Conservative’s plan presents a huge challenge to carriers, both logistically and financially.

“Conventional core optical networks will need to be completely upgraded in order to cope with this level of increased bandwidth demand,” product director Geoff Bennett said.

“Moving to 100Mbps to the home represents a 12-100 fold increase on that available in the UK today and will require the capex budget for core network providers like BT to be raised significantly to support the added traffic.”

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Michael Carroll