| Is there really such need for haste on National Broadband Network? |
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| by Stuart Corner | |
| Friday, 19 September 2008 | |
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The occasion for that tirade was the third of a series of in-depth studies produced by the UK's Broadband Stakeholders' Group (BSG) looking at various aspects a national broadband network for the UK; this latest entitled "The costs of deploying fibre-based next-generation broadband infrastructure". The report was funded jointly by the BSG and by the UK Government's Department for Business Enterprise & Regulatory Reform (BERR). Its aim was "to provide a key quantitative input into the independent review of next-generation broadband infrastructure and services being conducted by Francesco Caio at the request of BERR." Francesco Caio's report has just been published, so I cannot resist the temptation to once again compare and contrast the Australian approach with that of the UK. You can find Caio's terms of reference in my earlier article . However the Caio report has reframed its response to these ToRs to group its conclusions and recommendations around a number of key questions. (1) Is the delay in the development of NGA [next generation access network] translating to a competitive disadvantage for UK businesses and UK citizens? (2) Will the market deliver an investment in NGA on its own, or should the Government intervene now through subsidies or a structural change in regulation to get the roll-out of NGA started? (3) Is there a role for the Government to play in the development of NGA infrastructure and, if so, what type of initiatives ought it to pursue? CONTINUED |
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