Superfast Broadband Conference -The Future

Following on from our recent article, updating the current Superfast Broadband (SFB) roll out throughout the County, we need to know what is the future for broadband speeds, access to new technologies, and what the Government is doing about it!

Some Facts First:
38m people go online daily in the UK;
We spend an average of 89 hours online each month
This year, the internet will contribute more than £180bn to the UK economy
The UK is the largest digital economy in the G20
Four out of five people in the UK can access superfast broadband

What improvements to the SFB can we expect, and when?
BT is the preferred installer of SFB in the UK and already has adopted an innovative approach to current and future SFB facilities including:

Copper rearrangement
All-in-one cabinets
Microwave wireless to the cabinet
Long reach VDSL
Fibre to the remote node
Satellite

The success of these approaches will allow BT to provide SFB to 95% of the UK population. In addition they are currently trialing "G.fast" technology in Huntingdon, Cambridgeshire,
with 2000 premises and has recently started another in Gosforth.

BT has committed to an Ultrafast UK
This includes:
-A ten-year vision of 500Mbps available across most of the UK
-Supplemented by premium 1Gbps fibre broadband services for high demand
customers
-G.fast will transform the UK broadband landscape from superfast to Ultrafast in the quickest possible timeframe
-10m UK homes and business to have access to Ultrafast by 2020

BDUK (Broadband Delivery UK) is the Government Organisation that is responsible for the deployment of SFB throughout the UK and funds the Superfast broadband coverage to 95% of UK by 2017 & funds options to extend superfast broadband coverage beyond 95% – as announced by the Government recently.

Take Up
Take-up higher in rural areas – currently averaging 24%, and this is an important statistic from a funding point of view. BT has agreed to a Clawback Mechanism when take-up exceeds a certain percentage then BT will return funds to the organising body (Connecting Cheshire) which has already received £3.4million towards Phase 2 roll -out to the areas hardest to reach in Cheshire as a result

Summary
The roll out of SFB has come a long way in a short time and many of us in Cheshire now reap the benefits of fast Broadband speeds (Irrespective of your provider). The installers, BT, recognise the failings within the infrastructure, and are working flat out to provide solutions not only to those who still cannot get SFB, but also to those who currently are on SFB but need an improved service.
For more information clickhere to download the conference papers

Ed:"We will keep you up-to-date with developments and we welcome your comments either on facebook or via our email service editor@tarvinonline.org and we will forward them to Connecting Cheshire."