Showing posts with label UK. Show all posts
Showing posts with label UK. Show all posts
One of the issues being hotly debated over the Australian National Broadband Network is the digital divide that will be created by leaving out that last 10% of homes in Australia who wont be connected to the proposed Fibre to the Home network.
While it has been acknowledged that it will be expensive to deploy FTTH as population density decreases - particularly in rural areas - the government has failed to understand one very important aspect of rural Australia and that is community spirit.
Having been involved in the rollout of dialup internet to rural Western Australian back in the 90's, I gained an insight into the strength of local communities and how they can band together to deliver services which perhaps are not otherwise economical viable under normal commercial terms.
In the Cumbria country side of the United Kingdom, a small community of Alston is building their own FTTH network because its uneconomical for the larger carriers to deliver the services.
While it has been acknowledged that it will be expensive to deploy FTTH as population density decreases - particularly in rural areas - the government has failed to understand one very important aspect of rural Australia and that is community spirit.
Having been involved in the rollout of dialup internet to rural Western Australian back in the 90's, I gained an insight into the strength of local communities and how they can band together to deliver services which perhaps are not otherwise economical viable under normal commercial terms.
In the Cumbria country side of the United Kingdom, a small community of Alston is building their own FTTH network because its uneconomical for the larger carriers to deliver the services.
In an initiative worth £1.5bn (A$3.1), British Telecom has announced plans to roll out fibre connectivity to 10 million homes throughout the United Kingdom.
According to BT the plans are to supply a mix of FTTH and deep fibre FTTN to 10 million domestic premises across the UK, eventually reaching a target of 40 per cent of homes by 2012. FTTH will predominately deployed in greenfield developments such as that already piloted at Ebbsfleet and the Olympic Village. The deep fibre FTTN technology will be used in existing residential developments.
Homes benefiting from FTTH will get top speeds of up to 100Mbps, while those using a copper connection to a street cabinet will get speeds of up to 40Mbps. BT said this will make it possible for households to run multiple high-bandwidth applications, such as TV.
CEO Ian Livingston said “We now want to make a step-change in broadband provision which will offer faster speeds than ever before. This marks the beginning of a new chapter in Britain’s broadband story. We want to work with local and regional bodies to decide where and when we should focus the deployment. Our aim is that urban and rural areas alike will benefit from our investment”
BT is reacting to the increasing consumer demand to be able to access and run multiple bandwithintensive services simultaneously.
According to BT the plans are to supply a mix of FTTH and deep fibre FTTN to 10 million domestic premises across the UK, eventually reaching a target of 40 per cent of homes by 2012. FTTH will predominately deployed in greenfield developments such as that already piloted at Ebbsfleet and the Olympic Village. The deep fibre FTTN technology will be used in existing residential developments.
Homes benefiting from FTTH will get top speeds of up to 100Mbps, while those using a copper connection to a street cabinet will get speeds of up to 40Mbps. BT said this will make it possible for households to run multiple high-bandwidth applications, such as TV.
CEO Ian Livingston said “We now want to make a step-change in broadband provision which will offer faster speeds than ever before. This marks the beginning of a new chapter in Britain’s broadband story. We want to work with local and regional bodies to decide where and when we should focus the deployment. Our aim is that urban and rural areas alike will benefit from our investment”
BT is reacting to the increasing consumer demand to be able to access and run multiple bandwithintensive services simultaneously.
The United Kingdom's Broadband Stakeholder Group (BSG) last week published two crucial reports at its 'Beyond Pipe Dreams' Conference, which investigates the value of next generation broadband services and how they could be funded.
A Framework for Evaluating the Value of Next Generation Broadband
Models for efficient and effective public sector intervention in next generation broadband access networks
The reports estimate that upgrading the national infrastructure to reach 80% of UK homes with fibre-optic networks could cost in the region of £16bn. More over, this might end up being a mix of Fibre to the Home (FTTH) and Fibre to the Curb (FTTC), perhaps with some wireless mixed in for those hard to reach locations:
"We assume availability to 80 per cent of the population of the UK, corresponding to towns and cities, in our fibre scenarios. Beyond this level of coverage costs are likely to rise significantly and commercial rollout is less likely to be feasible in the foreseeable future. We discuss the question of whether further rollout would bring additional benefits following our assessment of costs and benefits for the 80 per cent availability scenario. We also assume rollout of FTTC over 5 years and FTTH over 10 years or more."
"The performance of FTTC would be intermediate between copper and fibre all the way to the premise. A preliminary estimate is that FTTC might offer a median upstream speed of around 10 Mbps and a median download speed of 22-30 Mbps. Openreach is carrying out trials and modelling work to refine estimates of the likely capability of FTTC in the UK."
This is consistant with an article I published some months ago called the "Myth of FTTN". No FTTN (let alone FTTC) network is going to be able to deliver 12Mbps upstream with nodes installed at 1 kilometre from the home.
However, Antony Walker, CEO of the Broadband Stakeholder Group, also warned that trying to jump right in and solve the problem immediately was not necessary - just so long as the UK doesn't wait too long:
"It is tempting to jump in feet-first but it matters more to do this right than to do it now. There is a lot of uncertainty about issues on both the demand and supply side and much that we can learn from experience elsewhere without adverse affects in the short-term. On the other hand, the UK can't wait too long. If widespread network deployment didn't happen in the medium term (perhaps three to five years), then this report suggests that the UK could be losing out.
The report also warns that it will take longer to deploy next generation broadband than it took to deploy the current generation and that some areas might be beyond the reach of market forces. Communities and individuals that remain beyond the reach of commercial deployment in the long-term will be disadvantaged. Close attention must therefore be paid to the emergence of a new digital divide."
Ofcom's Consumer Panel raised similar concerns in this mornings news item and they will need to be addressed ASAP. Having some communities with access to speeds reaching nearly 100Mbps, while others barely achieve 512Kbps, should be deemed totally unacceptable.
A Framework for Evaluating the Value of Next Generation Broadband
Models for efficient and effective public sector intervention in next generation broadband access networks
The reports estimate that upgrading the national infrastructure to reach 80% of UK homes with fibre-optic networks could cost in the region of £16bn. More over, this might end up being a mix of Fibre to the Home (FTTH) and Fibre to the Curb (FTTC), perhaps with some wireless mixed in for those hard to reach locations:
"We assume availability to 80 per cent of the population of the UK, corresponding to towns and cities, in our fibre scenarios. Beyond this level of coverage costs are likely to rise significantly and commercial rollout is less likely to be feasible in the foreseeable future. We discuss the question of whether further rollout would bring additional benefits following our assessment of costs and benefits for the 80 per cent availability scenario. We also assume rollout of FTTC over 5 years and FTTH over 10 years or more."
"The performance of FTTC would be intermediate between copper and fibre all the way to the premise. A preliminary estimate is that FTTC might offer a median upstream speed of around 10 Mbps and a median download speed of 22-30 Mbps. Openreach is carrying out trials and modelling work to refine estimates of the likely capability of FTTC in the UK."
This is consistant with an article I published some months ago called the "Myth of FTTN". No FTTN (let alone FTTC) network is going to be able to deliver 12Mbps upstream with nodes installed at 1 kilometre from the home.
However, Antony Walker, CEO of the Broadband Stakeholder Group, also warned that trying to jump right in and solve the problem immediately was not necessary - just so long as the UK doesn't wait too long:
"It is tempting to jump in feet-first but it matters more to do this right than to do it now. There is a lot of uncertainty about issues on both the demand and supply side and much that we can learn from experience elsewhere without adverse affects in the short-term. On the other hand, the UK can't wait too long. If widespread network deployment didn't happen in the medium term (perhaps three to five years), then this report suggests that the UK could be losing out.
The report also warns that it will take longer to deploy next generation broadband than it took to deploy the current generation and that some areas might be beyond the reach of market forces. Communities and individuals that remain beyond the reach of commercial deployment in the long-term will be disadvantaged. Close attention must therefore be paid to the emergence of a new digital divide."
Ofcom's Consumer Panel raised similar concerns in this mornings news item and they will need to be addressed ASAP. Having some communities with access to speeds reaching nearly 100Mbps, while others barely achieve 512Kbps, should be deemed totally unacceptable.
It seems that its not just the Australian government that has woken up to the necessity of FTTH. Ofcom, the UK equivalant to the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) - but with teeth, has announced new proposals designed to promote optical fibre rollouts to new developments in the UK.
In a speech given at the Institution of Engineering and Technology, Ofcom chief executive Ed Richards said: "Next generation access and networks form part of the critical infrastructure of the country's economy and will be central to the way we live our lives in the future."
Ofcom has begun consultations on its proposals aimed at encouraging investment in super-fast broadband. The proposals include details of how the regulator intends to ensure all communications providers are given an equal chance to deploy fibre to new build properties.
At the recent Council Europe conference on fibre-to-the-home (FTTH), figures showed Sweden as the European country with the largest penetration at 7 per cent, with the UK nowhere near even one per cent.
Commenting on the UK approach to rolling out optical fibre nationwide, Quocirca analyst Rob Bamforth said, "It strikes me that if the Victorian's had taken a similar approach to sewers, they'd only have laid them in certain parts of certain cities, most would be well under capacity and someone would be trying to sell 'value-added water services' to the privileged few with big pipes."
The consultation closes on 25 June 2008.
In a speech given at the Institution of Engineering and Technology, Ofcom chief executive Ed Richards said: "Next generation access and networks form part of the critical infrastructure of the country's economy and will be central to the way we live our lives in the future."
Ofcom has begun consultations on its proposals aimed at encouraging investment in super-fast broadband. The proposals include details of how the regulator intends to ensure all communications providers are given an equal chance to deploy fibre to new build properties.
At the recent Council Europe conference on fibre-to-the-home (FTTH), figures showed Sweden as the European country with the largest penetration at 7 per cent, with the UK nowhere near even one per cent.
Commenting on the UK approach to rolling out optical fibre nationwide, Quocirca analyst Rob Bamforth said, "It strikes me that if the Victorian's had taken a similar approach to sewers, they'd only have laid them in certain parts of certain cities, most would be well under capacity and someone would be trying to sell 'value-added water services' to the privileged few with big pipes."
The consultation closes on 25 June 2008.
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