The UK is still playing ‘catch-up’ with the rest of Europe when it comes to high-speed broadband. For many people, particularly those in rural areas who don’t have the benefit of fibre optics and still (in some cases) have to rely on dial-up, slow broadband connections are a fact of life. This is believed to be having a significant effect on the UK’s economy, with many small businesses struggling to compete with their European neighbours purely because they are being held back by outdated technology and a poor infrastructure.
However, the UK Government is on the case. A roll-out of next generation broadband is starting, with BT committed to spending £1.5billion on fibre optics and Virgin Media expanding its empire (router outages notwithstanding…). The Government wants super-fast broadband for every home, but what is the future of British broadband, and what will give consumers the biggest bang for their bucks?
Two key broadband options
The UK is considering two principle options – mobile and satellite broadband. Taking into account the explosion of ‘broadband on the go’ through the use of mobile devices like smart phones and tablets, mobile is being seen as the one that most consumers will go for initially. Delivered either as a dongle or via a wireless router, this still relies on a solid broadband infrastructure that the user can tap into. The introduction of 4G technology and the so-called LTE or Long Term Evolution that’s due to come online very soon means that download speeds are bound to get faster. So surfing the net while on the bus heading for work is set to become easier. As long as you can get some service..
And therein lies the weak link for mobile broadband. Coverage can be intermittent at best and unachievable at worst – particularly in rural areas. The other issue for mobile is the amount of data available. Fixed broadband provides data allowances of gigabites and, in some cases, unlimited. But mobile allowances are considerably less, with premiums being charged for users who exceed their monthly allowance.
Satellite – filling in the gaps
The smart money is on satellite broadband. For rural businesses and homes that have little or no connectivity, satellite could fill in the gaps in the network, giving 100% coverage. Two new broadband satellites are now operating above our heads – the UK’s very own Avanti satellite and the French company Eutelsat’s Tooway bird. Between them they should provide thousands of customers with the coverage they need – and deserve. The Avanti satellite promises to offer 2mb for all UK homes for around £15 a month, which is comparable to many other suppliers and brings it within financial range of most customers. The Tooway satellite, which uses the Ka band of the microwave spectrum, will provide faster speeds of up to 10Mbps across the whole of the UK. More on Satellite Broadband.
These options, while still requiring a satellite dish and modem, do go some way to bringing a more comprehensive broadband network to the beleaguered Internet surfers of the UK. A range of other provisions such as Fibre to the Home, the slightly cheaper hybrid Fibre to the Cabinet, ASDL2+, WIMAX and of course the ubiquitous cable option will mean that within a short space of time, the UK should have complete coverage. But logistically, the most probable future of UK broadband will be a merger of various types of provision, with cable and satellite in particular leading the field.