Broadband News & Mobile Broadband News

Homes and businesses in Sheffield may soon benefit from super-fast broadband speeds that will run through the city’s sewers.

H20 Networks, the company providing the network infrastructure has already built similar broadband networks in Dundee and Bournemouth.

The network will be built on top of the existing fibre optic broadband network that is currently used for Sheffield student accommodation and luxury flats in the town.

When ready in September, it is expected that broadband speeds will reach up to 100Mbps compared to the UK’s average broadband speed of around 3Mbps.

Once the super fast network has been installed, a small 4 inch box will need to be attached to the front of a subscribers home which will connect to the network.

This will enable the home to benefit from HD gaming services and on demand HDTV, together with the ability to download full length high quality films in just a matter of minutes.

While H20 Networks will be providing the network infrastructure, it is likely to be one of the UK’s major broadband providers who will act as an agent and provide the actual broadband service to customers – though to date none have yet signed up to do this.

H20 Networks plan to install similar networks across other towns in the UK once Sheffield is completed at the end of September.

At the Digital Britain summit in London, the Business Secretary, Lord Mandelson, has hinted that there may be Government funds available to help roll out super fast broadband across the UK.

With only half of the UK’s homes expected to have access to BT’s new super fast fibre optic broadband service by 2012, Lord Carter’s Digital Britain goal of full UK coverage currently looks unachievable – unless the Government intervenes.

Commenting on the possibility of Government funding, Lord Mandelson said, “Of course there is a possibility, but naturally enough not a certainty because I cannot pre-empt decisions taken by those above my pay grade.

Mandelson continued, “But let me say that I am a public investor where it is appropriate and right. I am not however somebody who believes in replacing market forces or displacing the private sector where they need to be in the lead and can do better than us in the government. So support, encourage, aid abet, even pump-prime here or there, is what we need to do as a government, but how and when are for others to decide.”

The Prime Minister, Gordon Brown, also stated at the summit that creating a universal service obligation for basic broadband was vital for competitiveness in the UK economy.

Overall further investment is required for more UK homes to benefit from super fast fibre optic broadband in the years ahead – so any funding from the Government would be welcome.

Hamilton in Scotland is the first town in the UK to get BT’s new super fast fibre optic broadband network.

There had been much speculation as to which areas would get the upgrade first with Cardiff, Edinburgh and other major UK cities reported to be high up on the list.

13,700 lines in Hamilton have been enabled for next generation broadband services on BT’s pioneering 21st Century Network (21CN). The new network will allow users to benefit from video-on-demand, data, voice and broadband services, with super fast speeds to match.

The Director of BT Scotland, Brendan Dick, said, “Hamilton is one of the first major communities in the UK to achieve the level of coverage. It is a key milestone for the town and fantastic to be part of this exciting, world-leading project.”

He continued, “Most of the foundations are now in place for offering next generation broadband services, but of course it will take time for companies offering those services to introduce products taking full advantage of this major investment. We are working with these companies to move forward as quickly as possible.”

BT’s fibre optic broadband installation project is the UK’s largest ever investment in super fast broadband and is expected to cost the company over £1.5bn over the next 3 years.

The new super fast broadband network that BT has been given the go ahead for is set to debut in South Wales. The fibre optic network will be installed in Cardiff and nearby Taffs Well at the start of 2010 – aswell as more urban areas like Belfast, Edinburgh, Glasgow, London and Greater Manchester.

Currently South Wales is one of the worst broadband coverage areas in the UK, especially in its rural areas. When the installation takes place, roughly 16,000 homes and businesses will benefit from broadband speeds of up to 40Mbps and potentially up to 60Mbps.

When talking about the new super fast broadband plans, the Welsh Assembly Government’s Deputy First Minister, Ieuan Wyn Jones, said:

“Access to broadband is important to businesses and citizens across Wales. It is important that the telecommunications infrastructure in Wales is able to meet this challenge and this announcement is a further demonstration of the important role that Wales wants to play at the forefront of the development of next generation broadband services across the UK”.

However, whilst it is great news that Cardiff and surrounding areas are set to benefit from this new network, there is still some concern about more rural parts of the country. David Melding AM, the Conservative Shadow Minister for the Economy said:

“While we welcome proposals to link the Cardiff area to a super-fast broadband network there are still parts of Wales struggling to get any broadband connection at all. Wales has been stuck in the slow lane of the information super highway for far too long, with the average broadband speed here slower than London and Scotland.”

BT’s installation of fibre optic broadband is the largest investment in super-fast broadband ever seen in the UK with the project set to cost BT up to £1.5bn.

More than 500,000 customers across the UK will benefit from the first phase of the BT installation scheme, with the next set of locations, serving a million homes and businesses to be announced in the autumn.

By 2012, BT is hoping that 40% of UK homes and businesses (circa 10 million premises) will be able to access super fast fibre optic broadband.

After it gave BT the go ahead for its new super-fast fibre optic broadband network, Ofcom is now urging more providers to make an investment.

Ofcom is hoping to increase broadband speeds to an average of 40Mbps across the whole country over the next few years and wants further investment in broadband networks to make this happen.

When talking about the changes in the regulation policies regarding broadband networks, the chief executive of Ofcom, Ed Richards, said:

“It will deliver significant benefits to consumers and businesses with the prospect of new digital services delivered over the internet at high speed.”

One way in which Ofcom is making it easier for broadband providers to invest is by letting them set their own price for wholesale broadband.

Usually Ofcom would interfere and set policies on how much each provider should charge – an action that has prevented suppliers from gaining as much profit back from their investment as they’d like.

However, with Ofcom now wanting to encourage broadband network growth, the regulations have been changed to benefit more providers.

In supporting this, Mr Richards said:

“Our message today is clear. There are no regulatory barriers in the way of investment in super-fast broadband. We want to promote investment but will also ensure that there is fair and effective competition for the future.”

Ofcom also proposed to help support industry developments and to continually review the market. However, they have admitted that they do not know how successful private investment would be.

Overall it is hoped that the changes in the regulations will encourage further private investment in the advanced broadband networks that are required for high-speed internet access in every UK home.