Several months ago reports indicated that the UK was falling behind in terms of technology that would enable the nation to embrace the higher speed, technologically advanced broadband of the future. Whereas other countries were investing in fibre networks to support far higher speeds, many were concerned that the UK was lagging behind and would soon be left out in the cold in terms of broadband advancements and higher speeds.
In a recent announcement former e-commerce minister and minister for competitiveness, Stephen Timms has stated that there is to be a summit held with the broadband industry in order to address this problem and to determine whether government intervention is going to be needed to ensure that the UK is ready to embrace the increased speeds and technological advancements of the broadband of tomorrow.
Ofcom has also confirmed its involvement in the discussions, which will ultimately help to shape the future of the UK's broadband based upon investment in advanced technology. Other countries such as Japan and the Netherlands are already enjoying higher speeds but the UK is currently far from ready for the speeds that future broadband will be likely to bring.
According to Mr Timms: "When I became e-commerce minister five years ago, the UK was neck and neck with Croatia on broadband availability and use. We fixed that problem and put Britain in a leading position. However, today we face a new challenge. Other countries are starting to invest in new, fibre-based infrastructure, delivering considerably higher bandwidth than is available in the UK today. It is essential that the UK undertakes timely deployment of technology - we can't lag behind."
Yvan Bamping of http://www.broadband-
