Shetland Telecom Boss Slams UK’s Broadband Strategy as “Madness”

Q6. The UK government’s Broadband Delivery UK (BDUK) plan, which aims to make superfast broadband (25Mbps+) services available to 90% of the country by 2015, has recently faced criticism from both the European Commission (EC) and a House of Lords Select Committee Inquiry.

Both the EC and Lords inquiry appear concerned at the lack of competition in the BDUK tenders, with only BT and Fujitsu allowed to bid; Fujitsu has already withdrawn from several projects and smaller ISPs seem to have been economically excluded.

Related concerns have also been raised over the speed target (25Mbps+ vs the EU’s 30Mbps+) and lack of open access to Dark Fibre lines. What are your thoughts on these concerns and the state of the government’s current broadband strategy?

ANSWER:

We went through the state aid notification process before there was any mention of BDUK so we had to do it the hard way. There were no derogations in place so we had to first go to the Scottish Government, who then passed it to Westminster, who then went to Brussels. It took time. We only had to make slight amendments to our project as time went on because from the outset our aims were in line with what the EU wanted to see happen.

If I was in Westminster the current strategy is exactly where I would want to be too. Large procurements over large areas, high level projections, high level costs, then dump it on to somebody else to sort out the details, job done, next!……. I am not in Government though, I live in a tiny community in the middle of nowhere. I’m seeing it from the other side. I don’t want to hear any more about theoretical coverage plans. I want to know actual locations of actual cabinets, in actual streets. The delays, ambiguity, infighting etc has slowed development of telecoms infrastructure down considerably. Nobody is investing.

I have no problem with BT winning every contract but I urge caution when changing the rules in the middle of the game.

Q7. The House of Lords Select Committee Inquiry recommended that one solution to improving the situation could be to foster the development of a truly national fibre optic (FTTP) infrastructure.

But in order to make this economically viable the lords suggested that the “last mile” of connectivity development might need to be paid for by home owners. This could, in some cases, costs thousands of pounds and would be difficult for many to afford. Do you agree with this as a solution and, if not, how would you fix the national telecoms infrastructure?

ANSWER:

I think in some areas the homeowner is going to have to take ownership of last mile solutions. FTTP is the best solution but there are others. Sometimes we get too caught up in the technology and not the service. I think we need a strategy which has FTTP as the end game but not necessarily from the outset.

Spending millions upon millions to squeeze more life out the copper network is in many ways complete madness. However, FTTP is expensive. It’s a gamble for the Government. They have a budget, and they need to use it for maximum return over a maximum area so that we all vote them back in to a job again in a few years time. I think if we looked at the project over a longer period of time then we might have a different strategy in place.

If BT wants to play the game then the BDUK investment may well be a good one. If BT don’t, then what BDUK has done is cemented the monopoly, so when the copper network becomes obsolete, the UK is left over a barrel. Which reminds me, I really need to get those shares in BT bought soon.

BT are a business first and foremost. I understand that. I do wish however, they would engage with the smaller localised solutions. It might come with time. If they would see the Community schemes as an opportunity rather than a threat I think everybody would be happier. They struggle to understand the rural landscape. Rural to me is not a village with 10,000 people. We need ‘really rural’ solutions.

I think The Lord’s report was more right than it was wrong but I tend not to worry about the bigger picture as much anymore. It just gives me heartburn. We have a localised solution for the problem we had. I do networks these days, not politics. It saves on the Gaviscon and I now get home before the kids are sleeping.

Q8. Can you tell us anything about what plans Shetland Telecom has for the future?

ANSWER:

The project is in its infancy even though it feels like we’ve been battling for a lifetime. I used to have a full head of hair before I started working in telecoms. We have a number plans. Some of what we do next depends on the outcome of the HIE/BDUK project although we can’t afford to wait forever, so we are deploying more network and planning for even more. Perhaps the Gaviscon might still come in useful.

END.

ISPreview.co.uk would like to thank Marvin Smith for taking time out of his hectic schedule to give his opinions on the UK telecoms market and its related broadband / internet issues.