There’s No Demand for Fibre-To-The-Home Broadband Says BT Boss
The Digital Britain Summit is now in full swing scrutinising the future of
As part of the event, Prime Minister Gordon Brown is set to give a keynote speech at the one-day meeting a little later, but of course, the major internet service providers (ISPs) also get to have their say.
First up is news of a panel meeting consisting of executives from BT Broadband, Virgin Broadband Media and O2 Broadband at which BT chief executive Ian Livingstone spoke out on the imminent £1.5bn fibre-to-the-cabinet (FTTC) network upgrade. The provider plans to spend the money rolling out an improved fibre broadband network as far as streetside cabinets. But that isn’t enough for some.
Firmly defending accusations of limited plans for faster broadband after taking a decision not to install fibre all the way to the customer’s home, Ian Livingstone revealed he thought there isn’t enough demand for fibre-to-the-home (FTTH) services to justify hefty installation costs. Livingstone commented: “Ultimately it’s about what people will pay for. The economic case is not great.”
The topic reared its head after the panel were asked to debate whether the government should step in either through regulation or subsidy to boost the rollout of high speed broadband.
The Digital Britain summit is currently taking place at the British Library and has been set up so technology and media executives can debate Lord Carter’s published report on the future of
