Posts Tagged superfast broadband
Superfast broadband ‘vital’ to most consumers
Posted by Jeremy in Latest Broadband News on February 12, 2012
Superfast broadband has become the Virgin Media product of choice. Half of new customers and a sizeable proportion of existing customers are choosing this service.
Chief executive of Virgin Media Neil Berkett claims superfast broadband phone and digital TV are the biggest generator of income. ‘Demand for better broadband also continues to grow fast, with around half of new customers choosing superfast speeds’.
These high speed coaxial cables pump data at an average speed of between 47.7 and 49Mb. Virgin’s fourth quarter revenue reached £1 billion last year, which demonstrates the growth the company is still experiencing due to efficient new services. Berkett observed that Virgin’s ‘strategy of focusing on customers who want more from the digital world is paying off.’
Superfast broadband phone and digital TV is just as important in the business sector. By keeping up with technological advances in this industry businesses can save themselves a great deal of money and time.
This crucial amenity is not only improving the lives of house and office tenants but now actually pushing up the prices of houses also. Research conducted by ISPreview displays how many UK consumers now see rapid broadband as a vital utility – one that they cannot live without 80 per cent agreed. Yet many homes in rural areas lack access to top download speeds. Research is indicating that this can make all the difference to a property sale. More than half of those questioned (57.4 per cent) claimed they would be willing to pay more for a home with super-fast download capabilities – defined as 25Mb or greater. The demand for premium broadband properties is on the increase and needs to be considered by landlords all over the country.
It is extremely important for property tycoons to realise the nation’s reliability on superfast broadband and to make this an essential element when looking to buy or sell new properties.
South Yorkshire broadband scheme investigated after £9m losses
Posted by Jeremy in Latest Broadband News on January 22, 2012
A fibre optic broadband scheme in South Yorkshire has come under investigation following an announcement that it had recorded losses amounting to £9 million within its first year of being operational. Launched in 2010, the project is tasked with making super-fast fibre broadband coverage available to the whole of South Yorkshire and has so far built a fibre optic network totalling more than 350 miles across South Yorkshire.
The project was launched independently of the fibre broadband rollout schemes that BT and Virgin Media are currently undertaking, with investors hoping to offer to sell use of the network to internet service providers (ISPs) at wholesale price. However, reports are suggesting that the scheme has attracted little interest from the targeted ISPs, leading to the announcement of £9 million losses over the last year.
Funding for the scheme was provided by Barnsley, Rotherham and Doncaster town councils and Sheffield City Council, with agencies such as the European Regional Development Fund and Yorkshire Forward also contributing to the £92 million bill. Despite this impressive budget, according to figures filed with Companies House the scheme has so far only brought in £167,000 worth of revenue.
The BBC reports that Rotherham Council is leading the investigation into why the project has failed to entice more custom on behalf of the other authorities involved. Concerns were first raised by a scrutiny panel working for Barnsley Council in September 2011 who noted that the rollout of the new network had taken more time than had been expected.
Leader of Barnsley Council Steve Houghton said the scheme had not “been as effective as we hoped”. He also added that the investigation was being carried out to: “see what the pressures and issues are and to see if we can make sure we deliver the outcomes we are looking for”.
A report is expected from Rotherham Council in the next six weeks.
Prime Minister states his belief that broadband holds the key to UK growth
Posted by Jeremy in Latest Broadband News on January 9, 2012
Prime Minister David Cameron has labelled the government’s plans for super-fast broadband as one of his “big plans” aimed at transforming and improving the UK’s infrastructure, a move he believes will return the economy to growth.
In his new year message, Cameron acknowledged that “much needs to change” if the British economy is to be brought back to a state where growth is a possibility. Government sponsored rolling out of super-fast broadband, new homes being built around the country plus improved roads and railways will all contribute to the achieving of this goal.
Mr Cameron said: “This will be the year Britain sees the world and the world sees Britain. It must be the year we go for it – the year the coalition government I lead does everything it takes to get our country up to strength. I profoundly believe that we can turn these things around.”
The coalition government has been extremely vocal in promoting its aim to get Britain connected to the best super-fast broadband network in Europe by the end of 2015, although as yet they have failed to specify an exact target. The plan is to give every home and business in the UK access to super-fast broadband & phone packages.
To achieve this goal, the government has set aside £530 million of funds to help with the installation of faster broadband services in areas of the UK that private telecoms companies will not take responsibility for, having deemed them ‘not economically viable’.
The Countryside Alliance criticised the government’s broadband plan in December, revealing that although four rural areas were chosen to pilot the super-fast broadband scheme, as of the end of 2011, not one had actually started work on the new network.
Culture Secretary Jeremy Hunt recently announced a deadline for local authorities to apply for funding, in a bid to get the initiative rolling.