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LONDON (Alliance News) - UK telecoms providers Tuesday welcomed news that UK Chancellor of the Exchequer Philip Hammond is set to announce more than GBP1.00 billion of spending to update Britain's digital infrastructure in his Autumn Statement on Wednesday.
Both Sky PLC and Vodafone Group PLC took the opportunity to take further hits at rival BT Group PLC, which is responsible for the installation and upkeep of most of the UK's broadband connections via its Openreach division, and is currently looking to upgrade its connections through the roll out of its new 'G.Fast' technology.
This comes as UK telecoms regulator Ofcom faces continued calls to enforce a structural separation of the Openreach division. A major point of contention from BT's rivals is that Openreach has been under-invested as part of the BT group, whilst BT has argued that it is vital for Openreach to be part of BT so that it can be properly funded.
Hammond is expected to detail investment of GBP400.0 million to begin the roll-out of a fibre-to-the property, or 'full fibre' network delivering speeds of 1,000 megabits per second or more, and a further GBP700 million to fund a programme of 5G trials for mobile communications.
In a statement, Sky Chief Operating Officer Andrew Griffith welcomed the announcement, saying it "chimes with our view that the future is full fibre".
"Government has played its part through this package of measures, which should help kick start the investment needed to push the UK up the league table. But we won't achieve the necessary step change in driving full fibre investment across the country unless Ofcom also takes bold and decisive action on the future of BT Openreach," Griffith said in the statement.
Vodafone likewise welcomed the plans for a full fibre development, rather than "BT's interim measure of fibre to the cabinet coupled with much slower and less reliable copper line G.Fast technology".
The mobile giant highlighted new independent research it had commissioned that predicts the roll-out of G.Fast will increase UK ultrafast household coverage by less than 5.0%.
"We welcome the government's move to focus on providing full fibre and we call upon BT to be up-front with the British public about its roll out plans and acknowledge that G.Fast will do nothing to help those stranded on archaic and woefully inadequate broadband today. BT is pushing a muddled compromise rooted in the past, while the rest of the world is focused on building the Gigabit Society at light speed over fibre," said Vodafone UK Director of External Affairs Helen Lamprell.
Chief Executive Officer of TalkTalk Telecom Group PLC Dido Harding said TalkTalk has "long been convinced that fully fibre internet connectivity is vital for the UK's digital future".
"We're delighted that the government is supporting this cutting-edge infrastructure, and encouraging competition between alternative providers to ensure that people up and down the country can enjoy full-fibre broadband as quickly as possible," Harding added.
AIM-listed fibre infrastructure firm CityFibre also welcomed the funding, suggesting that it is "entirely aligned with CityFibre's view that infrastructure competition is the only way for the UK to close its yawning fibre gap with other developed nations".
"Britain's industrial strategy needs a digital backbone, and it is essential that we move quickly to plug the UK?s 'fibre gap' and empower our service-based economy. This new funding, stimulating competitive fibre rollout at scale by new communications infrastructure builders, is a catalyst for the delivery of the UK's fibre future," said CityFibre Chief Executive Officer Greg Mesch in a statement.
But director of communications at comparison website Cable.co.uk Dan Howdle said it is "utterly absurd that this funding should provide to a minority speeds for which there is no known or useful purpose while so many others struggle for anything approaching basic adequacy".
Howdle noted that there "still remains millions of households in the UK for whom adequate broadband is a daily struggle". Whilst it might be that the areas targeted for the new ultrafast service are those without an adequate basic provision, Howdle said "realistically it is far more likely it will be brought to areas where there is an economic incentive for those providing the service".
"And let us not forget, there is currently no known or useful purpose for ultrafast broadband. Touting that you 'Can download a series of Game of Thrones in seconds' is fatuous nonsense," Howdle said.
"You can already watch it in seconds by streaming it in HD with just an 8Mbps connection. And even if you wanted to download a whole box set, those who provide such services throttle the maximum speed at which you can do so," Howdle added.
Howdle said that the government should be spending this money "where it matters most", and putting in place restrictions as to exactly where this new network provision can be applied to prioritise "those who need it most".
By Hana Stewart-Smith; hanassmith@alliancenews.com; @HanaSSAllNews
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