Is Britain in danger of getting stuck in the broadband slow lane?
That’s the question that ministers and industry leaders will chew over at an Internet summit this week.
A survey earlier this year found that Britain has one of the slowest average broadband speeds in Europe.
Countries around the world are investing in superfast broadband networks.
Minister for Competitiveness Stephen Timms says that Britain will fall behind if it fails to upgrade its mainly copper wire network.
The summit will look at the option of building a new fibre optic network across Britain to carry super-fast broadband. One report estimates it would cost 15 billion pounds.
“We need to be discussing how we can put this new network into place, because delay could be a barrier to the future success of our economy,” Timms tells the BBC.
While broadband prices have fallen, chatrooms and blogs are full of complaints that advertised speeds are often exaggerated.
One frustrated customer paying 24.99 pounds a month for a 8Mbps connection contacted the Guardian’s technology expert Jack Schofield last week complaining that the service was “unbelievably slow”.
Schofield advised that “there is no real guarantee of the speed of service”. That’s a headache for anyone trying to play games online or watch films online.
And it could spell disaster for businesses who rely on fast connections.
While everyone agrees that faster broadband is a good thing, the debate over who will build and pay for it is likely to run and run.
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7 comments so far
I live in the Netherlands. Standard broadband costs:
Downstream 3 Mb/s
Upstream 512 Kb/s
Abonnementskosten
Totaal € 34,90 p/mnd (approx £25)
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What are you complaining about!
- Posted by Chris DartAnd yes it never ever gets even close to that speed!
Hey! I wish they’d stop complaining about 8mb/s for that price. I Live in Dubai, U.A.E. Out here there ins’nt much choice on internet speeds, or providers (2). Both internet services offer the same speeds 512kb - 2mb/s. For a fee of, yep, more that 25 quid. 8mb/s would be a dream.
- Posted by SamMost other countries in Europe are experiencing similar problems with their infrastructure or lack of investment in it. Our business is located in rural France and we are pretty much stuck with 512 kbps or if we are lucky, some of us can obtain 1-Mbps. This is unlikely to change in the near future; It only makes sense to upgrade to high speed fibre optic networks in major conurbations and towns. Thus the ideal of building an internet based business in a rural area is fast becoming a folly.
- Posted by French Property[...] UK government met with senior telecoms representatives today to discuss plans for building a nationwide fibre-optic network. This is something that, in my view, [...]
- Posted by Broadband: Slow Brits and crazy French « telcoworld.co.ukWell, I’ve been using the Internet since a single ftp user could saturate the transatlantic backbone….. I can get sustained speeds in excess of 7 Mb/s but only 1) when I’m using the faster of my two wireless-equipped computers, and 2) when downloading software patches from my ISP’s mirror servers.
I wonder how many of those people who are complaining actually know the difference between a slow wireless card, a slow boardband connection, and a slow server? Face it, you’re never going to see maximum speed from a site as popular as, say, Youtube.
- Posted by Ian KemmishThe Gadget show on Channel 5 has a link on its web page that you can use to test your download and upload speeds. My service provider advertises 8mbs, but i get less than 1mbs. What they do not tell you is that BT exchanges can only usually handle 3mbs so you are already disadvantaged! Then they use all manner of excuses…..too far from the telephone exchange, too many users on that exchange…blah,blah,blah.
We are being conned!
- Posted by markI never felt the broadband is slow at all..There are different plans for different kind of performance..So need to select the relevant broadband needed..
- Posted by Shane