ISPreview Study Finds UK People Support State Aid for Gigabit Broadband
The latest web-based survey of 2,390 ISPreview.co.uk readers, a consumer orientated broadband ISP information site, has revealed that 78% of respondents want the Government to put public money towards deploying "ultrafast" broadband into rural areas and a quarter would support a state aid commitment of more than GBP15 billion.
London, United Kingdom, December 07, 2016 --(PR.com)-- How fast is "ultrafast" broadband? According to a new online survey of 2,390 people in the United Kingdom (run between 22nd October and 2nd December 2016), which was conducted by broadband news site ISPreview.co.uk, some 48% of respondents believe that "ultrafast" should signify a download speed of at least 1 Gigabit per second and around a quarter want to see its roll-out being supported by a public investment of GBP15bn or more.
At what download speed should the UK define the start of "ultrafast" broadband?
1Gbps+ (Gigabit) - 48%
300Mbps+ - 26.5%
100Mbps+ - 24%
None of the above - 1%
Traditionally most industry analysts have tended to think of "ultrafast" as starting at 100Mbps (Megabits per second), although last year the United Kingdom's telecoms regulator, Ofcom, chose to define it as having download speeds of greater than 300Mbps (Megabits per second). Meanwhile others believe that the starting point should be 1Gbps (1000Mbps+).
The majority of respondents (62%) also felt that symmetrical performance (i.e. the same download and upload speed) should be a requirement of any future definition.
"Governments around the world, particularly in the EU and United Kingdom, are in the process of planning future policy for the support of 'ultrafast' connectivity. But how we choose to define its performance could have a big impact on the cost of deployment. For example, Gigabit (1Gbps+) connectivity tends to require a pure fibre optic infrastructure and thus attracts the highest cost due to the need for extensive civil works," said ISPreview.co.uk's Founder, Mark Jackson.
In terms of public investment, a whopping 78% agreed that the Government must be prepared to put public money towards expanding "ultrafast" broadband into rural areas and a quarter of respondents (25%) felt that GBP15bn+ would be needed to do the job properly.
How much public money?
GBP15bn+ - 25%
GBP5bn - 21%
None! - 20%
GBP10bn - 17.5%
GBP1-4bn - 16%
"A variety of reports have estimated that the cost of rolling out a pure fibre optic network to every corner of the United Kingdom could end up reaching GBP25bn, although we have to hope that a big chunk of that would come through private investment. However, the commercial models tend to break down outside of urban areas and that's when the Government may need to step in," said Jackson.
"At present the Government are still laser focused on rolling out 'superfast' (24Mbps+) broadband to around 98% of the UK by 2019. However the new Digital Minister, Matthew Hancock, has already signalled that he believes the future will depend upon 'Gigabit speeds' and 'full fibre' [FTTH/P]. Delivering on that may prove to be difficult and last week's commitment of £400m in the Autumn Statement still falls a long way short, although we're going in the right direction," concluded Jackson.
At what download speed should the UK define the start of "ultrafast" broadband?
1Gbps+ (Gigabit) - 48%
300Mbps+ - 26.5%
100Mbps+ - 24%
None of the above - 1%
Traditionally most industry analysts have tended to think of "ultrafast" as starting at 100Mbps (Megabits per second), although last year the United Kingdom's telecoms regulator, Ofcom, chose to define it as having download speeds of greater than 300Mbps (Megabits per second). Meanwhile others believe that the starting point should be 1Gbps (1000Mbps+).
The majority of respondents (62%) also felt that symmetrical performance (i.e. the same download and upload speed) should be a requirement of any future definition.
"Governments around the world, particularly in the EU and United Kingdom, are in the process of planning future policy for the support of 'ultrafast' connectivity. But how we choose to define its performance could have a big impact on the cost of deployment. For example, Gigabit (1Gbps+) connectivity tends to require a pure fibre optic infrastructure and thus attracts the highest cost due to the need for extensive civil works," said ISPreview.co.uk's Founder, Mark Jackson.
In terms of public investment, a whopping 78% agreed that the Government must be prepared to put public money towards expanding "ultrafast" broadband into rural areas and a quarter of respondents (25%) felt that GBP15bn+ would be needed to do the job properly.
How much public money?
GBP15bn+ - 25%
GBP5bn - 21%
None! - 20%
GBP10bn - 17.5%
GBP1-4bn - 16%
"A variety of reports have estimated that the cost of rolling out a pure fibre optic network to every corner of the United Kingdom could end up reaching GBP25bn, although we have to hope that a big chunk of that would come through private investment. However, the commercial models tend to break down outside of urban areas and that's when the Government may need to step in," said Jackson.
"At present the Government are still laser focused on rolling out 'superfast' (24Mbps+) broadband to around 98% of the UK by 2019. However the new Digital Minister, Matthew Hancock, has already signalled that he believes the future will depend upon 'Gigabit speeds' and 'full fibre' [FTTH/P]. Delivering on that may prove to be difficult and last week's commitment of £400m in the Autumn Statement still falls a long way short, although we're going in the right direction," concluded Jackson.
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ISPreview.co.uk
Mark Jackson
440163278234
www.ispreview.co.uk
Mark Jackson
440163278234
www.ispreview.co.uk
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