The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, has today unveiled a bunch of new measures that are aimed at tackling parts of the city that suffer from slow and unreliable broadband or mobile connectivity “not spots“, such as those that exist around parts of Rotherhithe, Westminster and the central City of London.
At present most of London (96%) is already covered by a “superfast broadband” (24Mbps+) capable network, with Openreach’s (BT) ‘up to’ 80Mbps FTTC technology and Virgin Media’s 350Mbps DOCSIS based cable network being the most common forms of connectivity. Not to mention that both operators and some other ISPs (e.g. Hyperoptic) have also deployed FTTP/H in a few parts.
However there are still some pretty big gaps left to fill and as usual a new mayor means a new strategy, although much like previous mayors (e.g. Boris Johnson, Ken Livingston) we seem to be rather short on detail, funding and clear targets.
Instead Khan is planning to hold a connectivity summit with other local authorities in order to discuss the problem (much like Boris did) and he’s also setting up a Not-Spot Team, which will apparently “work with local authorities and providers to identify and deliver solutions to improve connectivity” (Boris did that too). So far, so familiar.
The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, said:
“London is now a leading global tech hub, with thriving start-ups alongside major companies like Facebook, Amazon and Google.
But our digital connectivity needs to be improved – internet connectivity is now a key public utility, and it is no surprise that some businesses see poor connectivity as a barrier to growth.
If we are to remain competitive in the global economy, we need to ensure every Londoner is able to access a fast and reliable digital connection.
That means working to boost connectivity across London – tackling not-spots, delivering connectivity in the London Underground and working with local authorities to provide digital infrastructure fitting of a global tech hub.”
The Mayor appears keen to encourage London’s local authorities to support him in applying for the Government’s “Digital Infrastructure Funding“, although if this is a reference to the same £400m that the Government has set aside to boost “full fibre” connectivity then it will need to be done in co-ordination with alternative network providers like Hyperoptic or Cityfibre etc. (here).
Khan added that Transport for London (TfL) will also shortly be issuing a formal notice seeking feedback from the industry on how it can best take advantage of its underground and street-level assets to improve connectivity across the capital, while also generating a commercial return. TfL are also already working to ensure that 4G is deployed across the underground by 2019.
David Leam, Infrastructure Director at London First, added:
“We should be making the most of existing infrastructure, including the London Underground network, to boost speeds and deliver coverage to areas that have been left behind. But we also need London’s planners to get behind this work, otherwise our digital ambitions risk being strangled by red tape.”
However sometimes the problem isn’t so much the issue of getting access to high capacity fibre optic cables as it is a problem related to the cost and complexity involved with the local network rearrangement and transport disruption, which is so often required to upgrade certain busy parts of the city.
The announcement also touches on the issue of wayleaves and planning permission. At this point we note that the City of London Corporation has already agreed a new standardised wayleave template (here) for fixed networks and work is now taking place to develop something similar for Mobile operators to use.
You’ll have to forgive some of our slightly cynical tone above but we’ve been left somewhat unimpressed by previous Mayors and their attempts to improve connectivity. Each one has tended to take the same sort of approach, which makes it look like they’re doing something while not actually doing much at all (except taking credit for work already being done by the private sector). Perhaps this time it will be different, we can only hope.
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