Lord Mandelson, who seems to have taken over the UK broadband industry, has today set out plans for a summit with chief executives from O2, Orange, T Mobile, Vodafone and 3 to try and put together a workable plan to increase UK broadband coverage. Since taking on the reins of the broadband sector Lord Mandelson had wasted little time in stamping his authority on the ongoing talks which to all intents and purposes have effectively stalled.
The U.K.’s five major mobile broadband providers have been unable to come to an agreement regarding the use of the wireless spectrum in the future with Vodafone and O2 under pressure to give up their original allocation. The problems centre upon the potential compensation package for Vodafone and O2, the basis of which is very much in dispute between the government, Vodafone and O2 and the other UK mobile broadband operators.
Even though mobile broadband in the UK is gaining in popularity there is still much work to be done to ensure that the far-flung areas of the country have access to broadband by 2012. Internet access for all in the UK is a central recommendation from the Digital Britain report although how and when this will be achieved is still very much open to debate.