ZDNet UK / News and Analysis / Infrastructure / Networking

Bandwidth talk turns off broadband late adopters

By Graeme Wearden, ZDNet.co.uk, 20 November, 2002 17:21

Daily Newsletters

Sign up to ZDNet UK's daily newsletter.

Topics

Rollout, broadband stakeholders group, antony walker, civil infrastructure, Broadband

NEWS
The UK's telecoms industry must concentrate on promoting the value of broadband if the vision of Broadband Britain is to be achieved, according to a senior member of the Broadband Stakeholder Group (BSG). Antony Walker, chief executive of the BSG, told ZDNet UK on Tuesday that it is important for broadband providers to explain the wide benefits of a high-speed Internet connection, rather than just focusing on technical issues such as always-on connectivity and bandwidth. Otherwise, Walker fears, broadband take-up could falter. "If we are to attract more users we need to target the non-early adopters," said Walker, warning that while most of the UK's existing 1.1 million broadband users migrated from narrowband because broadband is faster and always on, different selling points are needed for mass-market uptake. Walker explained that recent research into the use of broadband has found that speed is not seen as the most important aspect. "They experienced less frustration when surfing, and were more relaxed. As a result, they spent more time online and achieved more, and their Internet experience became deeper. Some advertising campaigns have focused on broadband being fast and exciting, but perhaps the new message should be 'relax with broadband'," suggested Walker. The Broadband Stakeholder Group published its second annual report into the UK's broadband market this week. In its report, the BSG acknowledges the progress made in the last year, but says that there is still much to be done in terms of both take-up and coverage. In the report, BSG chairman Keith Todd says: "In the long term, broadband will herald a transformation in how we live, play, work, educate and build and maintain communities." The BSG makes several recommendations for 2003. As Walker explained, making broadband a "must have" service is a priority if the currently take-up rates are to be sustained. To address the coverage issue, the BSG wants regional authorities to coordinate the rollout of broadband infrastructure by harnessing together public sector demand, private sector investment and regional funding. It is also proposing that new telecommunications infrastructure could be built by an independent company, rather than telecoms operators, as a way of reducing costs. This, the BSG believes, could make it economically viable for operators to offer broadband in more rural areas, and could also stimulate the rollout of new, faster, technologies. "Up to 70 percent of the cost of rolling out broadband is the civil infrastructure -- such as digging trenches, building ducts and poles. If a third party built this infrastructure, and allowed operators to share it, it could significantly reduce the costs of rollout," Walker explained. Walker believes that such a third-party company would be able to borrow money to fund such infrastructure on the basis of providing real estate, not as a telecoms operator, meaning they could be allowed much longer to achieve a return on their investment. Some in the industry have suggested that this plan, if implemented, could result in the creation of a next-generation local loop that would duplicate some of the functionality of BT's existing network of local exchanges. Walker played down this suggestion and insisted that this was a medium to long-term idea, but he also suggested that BT could gain from it. "BT hasn't opposed the idea, and that could be because they can see benefits for themselves. They need a way of getting fibre to the kerb if they want to offer next-generation broadband services that are faster than ADSL," pointed out Walker. VDSL -- a broadband technology that promises much faster speeds than ADSL -- requires fibre-optic cables to be laid from BT's street-side cabinets to the local exchange.
See the Broadband News Section for the latest on cable modems, ADSL, satellite and other high-speed access technologies, including a comprehensive guide to the best deals out there. Have your say instantly, and see what others have said. Go to the Telecoms forum. Let the editors know what you think in the Mailroom.

Related stories

UK's broadband boom rockets

VDSL promises broadband for rural areas

Government accepts broadband recommendations

Ofcom to make it easier to change broadband service

Google set to build backbone of its 1Gbps fibre network

Post your comment

In order to post a comment you need to be registered and logged in.

You can also log in with Facebook. Log in or create your ZDNet UK account below

  • Login

Will not be displayed with your comment

By signing up for this service, you indicate that you agree to our Terms and Conditions and have read and understood our Privacy Policy. Questions about membership? Find the answers in the Community FAQ

Get ZDNet UK's daily newsletter

Enter your email address to sign up

ZDNet UK Live

BrownieBoy

@Jack, > Works really well for thieves.... Nice attempt to deflect the argument by tossing in a point that's totally irrelevant, even it were...

10 hours ago by BrownieBoy on AMD Ultrathins to challenge Intel Ultrabooks
bootlegger

Make that 13 people now - I got refused today at Manchester airport. I thought I was up to date on this legislation - I knew of the EU ruling from...

13 hours ago by bootlegger on UK airport body scans will not be opt out
tinycg

Don't forget to check out apps like GoodReader or SlideShark either, they're indispensible for people on the go in presentation situations. Best...

16 hours ago by tinycg on Four top iPad apps for people on the move
TerryRK

Well it seems there is something a number of us agree on. Why is the Ubuntu Unity launcher so ugly? I thought perhaps it was something to do with...

20 hours ago by TerryRK on A tale of two distros: Ubuntu and Linux Mint
Freebies202

Duplicate comments are not made intentionally. Its very good to know that now you are keeping check on this problem because sometimes a commenter...

1 day ago by Freebies202 on Microsoft fixes blog comments, speeds up blogs with open source
kevinmchapman

"the very significant number of users" and "many (most) of us" - you have no evidence for these statements. It is a fact that most users are saying...

2 days ago by kevinmchapman on A tale of two distros: Ubuntu and Linux Mint

Another grammar faux pas is the improper use of "you". When sitting down down in a restaurant, for example, I get cringe when the waitress...

2 days ago by via Facebook on 10 flagrant grammar mistakes that make you look stupid
zdnetukuser

And NOW, folks, for Canonical's next trick... Kubuntu is late. Here's a pencil. Draw your own conclusions. cf.:...

2 days ago by zdnetukuser on Linux Minterface
Moley

@kevinmchapman. The discussion here reflects the very significant number of users who really do like the traditional menu system and who wish to...

2 days ago by Moley on A tale of two distros: Ubuntu and Linux Mint
kevinmchapman

Er, no... It is an efficient means of finding the application/file/setting you need in one place. The icons are a simply a fallback for when you...

2 days ago by kevinmchapman on A tale of two distros: Ubuntu and Linux Mint
TerryRK

Isn't the provision of a text based search an admission by the developers that the mass of icons approach does not work? I don't need to use a...

2 days ago by TerryRK on A tale of two distros: Ubuntu and Linux Mint
kevinmchapman

"Unity and GNOME 3 both abandon the old text-based cascading menus in favour of a graphical icon-driven system." Point truly missed. Both use a...

2 days ago by kevinmchapman on A tale of two distros: Ubuntu and Linux Mint
TerryRK

whs001 - Thank you, I'm glad you liked the article. I absolutely agree with you on your first point. I should perhaps have made it clearer that...

2 days ago by TerryRK on A tale of two distros: Ubuntu and Linux Mint
Dennis Nilsson

If we allow corporate interest to dictate the way our government circumvents due process against foreign entities then we should accept the same...

2 days ago by Dennis Nilsson via Facebook on ACTA stumbles in Germany
GHar123

I totally dislike pirating of works, I fear that artists will be deterred from creating works if they think that they are going to get ripped off....

2 days ago by GHar123 on ACTA stumbles in Germany
JCB33

How dare film makers, artists or anybody that invests in creativity stop us pirating their works for free. I want to be able to walk into my local...

2 days ago by JCB33 on ACTA stumbles in Germany
Moley

@GrueMaster. I prefer horses for courses rather than one size fits all. I, and I suspect most other computer users, do not really wish to have...

2 days ago by Moley on A tale of two distros: Ubuntu and Linux Mint
greycynic

The product that scares me every time I have to use it is the Office 2007 version of Excel. The first bug that I found was applying the median...

2 days ago by greycynic on Ten flawed products that derail productivity
GrueMaster

Nice review and very informative. One thing I'd like to add (in reply to whs001's 1st question), the main reason to have the same interface from...

2 days ago by GrueMaster on A tale of two distros: Ubuntu and Linux Mint
Frederick Wrigley

I'be been using Mint 12 since the RC came out, and I am far more happy with the Cinnamon, the Mate, and, yes (with extensions), theGnome 3...

2 days ago by Frederick Wrigley via Facebook on A tale of two distros: Ubuntu and Linux Mint

Latest in Networking

Ofcom to make it easier to change broadband service

Google set to build backbone of its 1Gbps fibre network

Nicira reveals network virtualisation details

Featured white papers

Using cloud-based solutions to fight DDoS attacks

VeriSign

Using cloud-based solutions to fight DDoS attacks

As distributed-denial-of-service attacks grow in size, complexity and frequency, security organisations are discovering that in-house solutions are no longer... Read more

ZDNet Tech Family Tree - The history of the iPhone

ZDNet UK

ZDNet Tech Family Tree - The history of the iPhone

Download this a wholly original insight into Apple's most famous product, peruse the PDF and buy the history of the iPhone for your... Read more

The virtual presenter's handbook

Citrix Online

The virtual presenter's handbook

Web seminars or webinars can be interactive and engaging, just like having every person in the same room, and this white paper outlines how they can benefit your... Read more

Inside ZDNet UK

A tale of two distros: Ubuntu and Linux Mint

A tale of two distros: Ubuntu and Linux Mint

2012 Predictions: VCE FastPath, VI SAN Probe & Hadoop

2012 Predictions: VCE FastPath, VI SAN Probe & Hadoop

BlackBerry Bold 9790

BlackBerry Bold 9790

Make faster, smarter decisions using BI

Make faster, smarter decisions using BI

Ten factors that make Ubuntu 11.10 a hit

Ten factors that make Ubuntu 11.10 a hit

Toshiba Portégé Z830-10P Review

Toshiba Portégé Z830-10P Review

BT's archive: Pictures from the vault

BT's archive: Pictures from the vault