There is no doubt that fibre-optic networks are the way forward for the UK broadband industry and while the government seems very keen to become involved we have yet to receive a definitive date by which a UK national fibre-optic network will be available. We have the BT project, which will see 10 million UK homes connected to a fibre-optic network by 2012, as well as Virgin Media’s use of fibre-optic connections, which has allowed the company to announce a 50 Mbps broadband service, but when will the network go national?
The number of fibre to building connections around the world has reached 49 million, with China (16 million broadband connections) and Japan (13.4 million broadband connections) at the forefront of developments, although the UK has yet to really leave its mark. The figure of 49 million fibre to building connections is set to reach 145 million by 2013 when it is estimated that one in every five broadband connections will be via a fibre network.
While Europe is starting to make progress in the area of fibre-optic networks, there are concerns that the UK government is stalling on funding issues for the network which is causing severe delays. Attention grabbing headlines from UK ministers are all well and good but the UK broadband industry is calling for more substance behind the headlines.