Research group downplays BT plans
22nd July 2008
BT’s plans for a super-fast fibre-optic broadband network to be implemented across the UK have been downplayed by one IT research group.
In a letter to the Financial Times, TNS Technology highlighted that even with the roll-out of the £1.5 billion network, the UK would still be inferior to nations in the top tier of broadband provision, reports Contractor UK.
The firm says that by the year 2012 - when BT is scheduled to have completed the project - the broadband infrastructure in France, Japan and South Korea will have seen more investment than that in Britain.
According to TNS: "BT’s proposition does have the potential to improve our internet TV services significantly, but the UK will remain a second-tier country when it comes to internet speeds."
The Asia-Pacific region has one of the fastest growing populations of broadband subscribers - it is estimated there will be 171 million signed up by the end of the year, up from 129.7 million at the end of 2007, research from Frost and Sullivan indicates.
Member of the Internet Services Providers' Association
Member of the Broadband Stakeholder Group