July 17, 2010 by Jenny Sanderson
Despite some ambitious and wide-reaching plans for broadband access in the UK being bandied around by the government, the project has now been delayed. The 2 megabytes per second broadband scheme, which aimed to provide access to fast broadband to every person within the UK, has now been put on hold due to a lack of funds.
Jeremy Hunt, Culture Secretary, has stated that the deadline of 2012 was unrealistic, as there were insufficient finds to achieve the project. BT have also voiced doubts, as the aspirational project would incur costs of billions of pounds, the majority of which would have to be obtained through public funding.
BT’s ‘Openreach’ Chief Executive commented: “Last month, I announced that we were supporting a universal service level of 2 Mbps as the very minimum that should be available. I have looked at the provision the Government had made to achieve this by 2012. And I’m afraid that I am not convinced that there is sufficient funding in place. So, while we will keep working towards that date, we have set ourselves a more realistic target of achieving universal 2 Mbps access within the lifetime of this Parliament.”
Despite some excellent pans for revolutionizing digital access and transforming technology, the government does not have the funds to achieve the projects. With the exception of an estimated £175m allocated for digital switchover, cost cutting is on the agenda, as evidenced by the recent review of governmental websites.
The Culture Secretary has suggested that some of the funding allocated for the digital switchover could be diverted in to broadband projects, but the only real solution to achieving the project was to obtain funding by industry investors within the UK, providing financial backing and technological advice. With around five million houses requiring an upgrade to superfast broadband, the project will be both costly and ambitious.
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