Britain’s Broadband Backbone Bent Shapeless

Today’s Ofcom announcement about broadband speeds for consumers was useful in setting tongues wagging, and keeping broadband on the news agenda.

Broadband matters. It offers the opportunity for better communications, new services and can form a backbone to a community.

The Digital Britain Report, earlier this year, went nowhere near far enough in terms of vision, but did lay out some good basic standards – standards that we should be achieving now, not tomorrow.

And before that, the BBC had commissioned SamKnows to identify the country’s ‘NotSpots’, and although not all of Britain appears on the maps, they do demonstrate disparity.

Today’s report highlights not just the availability issue, but the disparity in quality received by those that do, nominally, get broadband. The factors can be influenced by our own computers and their positioning, but there are factors such as distance from exchange over which we have little influence.

It has long since been publicised that broadband may be highly contended (shared with others) which is one reason that we have it relatively cheaply, and that users experience variable speeds.

But today’s figures on broadband delivered versus broadband speed purchased are surely a cause for concern – could the providers be held to account for failing to deliver what they have sold? Apparently the fact that companies advertise speeds ‘up to’ protects them. Suppliers face huge technical issues, but should expectations be being set at a more honest level?

According to reports last year, nearly 60% of broadband users in the UK enjoy speeds of 2Mbps or higher. On this basis, broadband penetration in the UK was deemed high for the Office for National Statistics to discontinue its quarterly reporting of broadband growth.  But the Digital Britain report demanded 4 Mbps as a minimum.

A Digital Britain is worth fighting for, and it would be good to see some joined up thinking. Well done to Ofcom for raising the issue, but there needs to be some (jargon alert!) joined up thinking at government level – local and national –  if the digital divide is not to become a gulf.

A great call to action would be letters to MPs, but they’re on holiday; or using Twitter to #AskOfcom, but if they’re responding they’re not using their own hashtag or responding publicly.

So should you have an issue with our missing broadband, this may offer some instant gratification: http://www.broadband-notspot.org.uk/. But like most instant gratification, the satisfaction is only fleeting when you consider the problem lying ahead.

Related reports:

The Guardian, Ofcom criticises broadband providers for misleading ‘up to’ speeds

Think Broadband: Ofcom finally publishes final broadband report

ITN report:

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