Cost of fibre network highlighted
8th September 2008
Depending on how it is set up, delivering a fibre-optic broadband network to every home in the UK could carry significant costs, according to new research.
A report from the Broadband Stakeholder Group (BSG) has found that installing a dedicated fibre-optic cable to every home and business in the UK would cost over £28 billion.
However, if the fibre-optic network was extended just to telephone exchanges in street level cabinets, the cost would be nearer five billion pounds.
BSG chief executive, Anthony Walker, said that the problem of higher costs to deploy a network in rural areas could be lessened if a higher take-up was seen.
"If operators could achieve a higher level of take-up in rural areas than we have predicted in our study, then the business case for deployment in those areas could improve significantly," he commented.
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