For many people the Digital Economy Bill was thought to be a piece of
legislation that would layout who and how the Universal Service Commitment
(USC) would work, but to perhaps many peoples surprise the USC is not part of
the bill. The funding of the Final Third Project to get Next Generation
Broadband to the areas of the UK that the commercial firms will not venture was
always going to be part of the Finance Bill due to the need for legislation to
introduce a tax raising regime.
So where does the USC stand? Well for one that USC is NOT about
giving everyone 2Meg download speeds but rather ‘to ensure, through a
Universal Service Commitment (USC) that virtually every household in the UK can
get access to a line capable of delivering at least 2Mbps’. The word
virtually was in the original report but often ignored, it is there so that the
difficult areas can be provisioned with something more economically viable. It
is important to be aware it is talking of a line that can manage 2Meg, not
sustain 2Meg at peak times, or put another way, the many people who complain on
our broadband
Not-Spot mapping system of slow throughput even though connected at 2Meg or
faster will not benefit from the USC. The money to pay for the work required to
meet the USC will be from the surplus funds in the Digital Switchover money
pot, which is thought to be around £200m. Two hundred million sounds a lot, but
if one accepts that there are 166,000 properties unable to get broadband in the
UK, which is a figure often mentioned, this works out at just £1200 per
property.
Given the spread out nature of many broadband black holes, we think people
should be prepared to accept satellite broadband services, or the under trial
‘BET’ (Broadband Enabling Technology) system from Openreach. Where a cluster of
five or six properties exist with no broadband, then more advanced possibly
even next generation systems may be possible, particularly if the
homeowners/businesses are willing to pay something towards the install fee.
While 2Mbps can be considered fit for online banking and access to e-gov
services, the increasing amount of video available for purchase online means
people with 2Meg lines will feel like second class broadband citizens. In four
years time we may find that operating system updates occupy an hour or two a
day on a 2Mbps line (Microsoft Windows service packs can already weigh in at
200 to 400MB in size).
The USC was an opportunity to take the already world leading broadband
coverage in the UK, and put the UK in a position that would stop people
worrying about the state of broadband access when relocating a home or
business. As things stand now, it is impossible for us to say who people will
go to to ask questions about the USC, or exactly what the options will be for
people. In theory, this information should emerge very soon if the USC is meant
to be completed by 2012, but the reality is that we will probably see the
mechanisms in place in 2011 ready for 2012 and those with no broadband
benefiting possibly in time for the 2012 Olympics.
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Again, so what 2MBit is “low”. Other EU countries are aiming for 1-2MBit in the 2010-2012 timescale, with the aim of raising the minimum over the next few decades.
The UK is relying on the Final Third to handle expansion, and as far I recall no EU country has laid out plans for 2020 or beyond.
Perhaps it was false hope, but each step of the USC always seems to be dissapointment, i.e. a chance to do something truly worthwhile is missed.
The USC should in my view have been in the bill and had some firm commitments to it.
2mbits is low, and promotes at least a two-tiered system. I’m sure people who are struggling to get anything will be pleased, but it is not forward looking or visionary. Not interested in what the other countries are doing.
I’m hoping noone will pop up and remind me what a privileged household we are, to live in a rural area and subsidized by urban areas as per the recent debate on the forums about the comments in the House of Lords.
PS I know it’s expensive to do!
“to live in a rural area and subsidized by urban areas” – you also get penalised by urban specific measures like having to run on fuels designed purely for urban issues or schemes to increase the use of non-existent public transport.
Herdwick, that’s not true – I saw a couple of buses the other day!
It is in no way impossible. Improbable because it’s not cost-effective, but not impossible.
” i can say told you so!” – just because the USC isn’t in the bill doesn’t mean it has been abandoned. Until such time as they publish what they are doing your guess is as good or bad as anybodies. Everyone can have 2M satellite, for example.
No technical reason it cannot be done, who said it will use a telephone exchange. 2-way satellite needs nothing other than power to run the kit.
CB – The popular satellite broadband provider operating in the United Kingdom, Avanti Communications has been chosen by the government of the country to provide satellite broadband services in a couple of areas.
http://www.broadbandsuppliers.co.uk/news/wireless-broadband/avanti-secures-broadband-contracts1110.html
CB – Why not? (If you can se the satellite) Although we don’t know the costs yet.
‘ in a couple of areas’. So maybe for all eventually.